White Sox IF Nicky Lopez shares his side of bizarre run-in with umpire C.B. Bucknor

(670 The Score) During the fifth inning of a game Saturday between the White Sox and Cardinals at Busch Stadium, confusion ensued courtesy of longtime Major League Baseball umpire C.B. Bucknor.

Cardinals starter Lance Lynn delivered a 2-2 pitch to White Sox infielder Nicky Lopez that appeared to be outside of the strike zone, and Bucknor didn’t call anything. Lopez figured the non-signal indicated it was ball three until Bucknor gestured that the at-bat was over.

It led Lopez and White Sox manager Pedro Grifol to argue with Bucknor, though cooler heads prevailed. But as Lopez explained, the entire situation could’ve been avoided.

“During the game, you kind of get the umpire’s cadence, what a strike sounds like, what a ball sounds like,” Lopez told the Parkins & Spiegel Show on Monday. “So, most of them don’t say anything if it’s a ball. On that particular pitch, he didn’t say anything. Willson Contreras goes to throw the ball down to third because he thought it was strike three. He pump faked, doesn’t throw it. He looks back at (Bucknor) and says, ‘Did you call that a ball?’ At this point, he still hasn’t said anything and this is, like, seven seconds gone by.

“And then he, like, made a noise. It wasn’t even like a strike. It was like a noise. Then they threw the ball around and I was like, ‘You didn’t call anything.’ And that was kind of the gist of it. He looks at me and goes, ‘I don’t have to.’ And I told him word for word, ‘Yes you do. You’re the umpire.’”

Lopez said Bucknor approached him to apologize on Sunday.

The White Sox earned a 6-5 win over the Cardinals during Saturday’s game, which ended in equally bizarre fashion. The game was delayed nearly three hours with the bases loaded and two outs in the 10th inning – and the White Sox one out away from securing their victory.

Following the delay, Bucknor called strike three to end the game on a pitch that was well out of the strike zone.