BOSTON — For the fifth time this season, Bobby Valentine
was ejected.
But unlike the other expulsions, Sunday's was different.
When first base umpire Dan Bellino tossed Valentine in the fifth inning of
the 8-6 Red Sox win, the skipper walked off to a rousing standing
ovation.
Valentine thought Dustin Pedroia — who was ruled out
after hitting a hard grounder to Royals third baseman Tony Abreu — had beat a throw to first base, especially
since first baseman Eric Hosmer also came off the bag.
"I was still steaming, but I think [the fans] got the team
excited," said Valentine, who notched his 42nd career ejection.
"When they got on their feet, the team wanted to keep them on their feet.
That was good."
Pretty timely, too. Shortly after the manager retreated
to the clubhouse office, the Red Sox rallied to score five runs over the next
four frames. It was the loudest the fans at Fenway Park have cheered for
Valentine.
"Bobby was pretty upset, because I didn't even turn
around, and he was already out of the game," Pedroia said. "It was
pretty funny."
The Royals weren't as entertained, since the ejection
sparked the Red Sox. Despite an eighth-inning hiccup from reliever Pedro Beato,
who was called up Sunday, the Red Sox bullpen stymied the Royals lineup the
rest of the way.
Mark Melancon even managed to record his first
save of the season in his first attempt since April 8 — the third game of the year.
With Alfredo Aceves and Andrew Bailey, who had pitched on three consecutive days coming into Sunday, unavailable, Melancon was the only logical option.
"We should all just get thrown out of the game all
the time," Pedroia said.
Valentine denied that he attempted to get
thrown out intentionally, emphasizing that he didn't utter any "magic
words" before his ejection.
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