BOSTON — Baltimore Orioles pitcher Ubaldo Jimenez was cruising in Friday night’s game against the Red Sox until his outing ended early because of an ejection.
Jimenez was ejected after hitting Red Sox third baseman Pablo Sandoval up high in the fourth inning. Home plate umpire Jordan Baker wasted no time, immediately throwing the 31-year-old right-hander out of the game. Jimenez had given up no hits through 3 and 2/3 innings.
Sandoval slid hard into second base and collided with Orioles second baseman Jonathan Schoop in the second inning as he was trying to complete a double play. It looked like the umpire determined Jimenez’s pitch was in response to that slide.
“Pablo is a strong baserunner,” Red Sox manager John Farrell said. “That was a good, hard, clean slide to break up a double play. Apparently after the hit by pitch on the next at-bat, Jordan felt there was intent, obviously, for the ejection. But that was a good, hard, clean slide.”
Farrell was a bit surprised at the decision to eject Jimenez. Neither team was warned prior to the ejection and the two players involved don’t have any sort of history.
“Honestly, yes. A little surprised,” Farrell said. “I didn’t see anything that would have warranted a hit by pitch. Obviously, Jordan felt like there was intent, whether or not he felt it was because of the hard slide at second base, that I don’t know. But it was quick.”
The Orioles were leading 1-0 at the time of Jimenez’s ejection, but their bullpen was unable to shut the door as the Red Sox won 3-2 on Xander Bogaerts’ walk-off single in the ninth inning.
Thumbnail photo via Bob DeChiara/USA TODAY Sports Images
