Ervin Santana Claims Yankees and Red Sox Get Better Calls from Umpires

The Red Sox and Yankees haven’t been making too many umpires happy lately, but according to Ervin Santana, that hasn’t stopped the men in blue from favoring the two AL East rivals.

After allowing eight hits and walking five in the Angels’ 7-5 loss to the Yankees on Tuesday, Santana didn’t think his pitching was to blame.

"Sometimes, when [Andy] Pettitte was pitching, he'd throw a fastball a little up and he'd call it. He'd throw it a little down and he'd still call it," Santana told ESPN.com. "When I do the same thing, he didn't give me the call. That's because it's the Yankees. That happens every time we play the Yankees or Boston."

Santana is not the first pitcher to place the blame somewhere other than on his own arm, but by calling out two of baseball’s most iconic franchises, he’s likely to raise some blood pressure and a few middle digits along the eastern seaboard. Yanks-Sox conspiracy theorists like the 27-year-old Angels righty are nothing new in baseball, but umpires aren’t about to admit to any Tim Donaghy-esque behavior.

"I'm sorry he feels that way. He has every opportunity to do well," Tuesday’s crew chief Jerry Layne said. "Everybody's treated the same. Major league umpires just don't do that. I don't know why somebody would say that."

The loss dropped Santana to 0-2 on the year with a 6.94 ERA.