BOSTON — Manager John Farrell rushed out of the Red Sox’s dugout after David Ortiz was ejected in the fifth inning of Sunday’s game against the Baltimore Orioles at Fenway Park.
Farrell wasn’t nearly as animated as Ortiz, who slammed his bat and threw his elbow guard upon receiving the hook from home plate umpire John Tumpane. But the skipper certainly understood Ortiz’s frustration regarding a couple of calls that went against the slugger and the Red Sox.
“The discussion was our disagreement with a couple of check swings that (third base umpire) Jerry Meals called today. We didn’t feel like on either one he went,” Farrell said after Sunday’s 8-3 loss to the O’s. “In the first at-bat, it doesn’t really have an outcome because he ends up walking. But those were quick rings on the check swing, and we didn’t feel like he swung on either one.”
Ortiz, who was unavailable for comment after Sunday’s game, had a run-in with the umpiring crew in the first inning when Meals said he went around on a 3-1 pitch from Orioles starter Miguel Gonzalez. Ortiz walked one pitch later, but the strike call clearly didn’t sit well with the 39-year-old, as he had dropped his bat and started toward first base before receiving the bad news.
Ortiz reached his boiling point in the fifth inning when Gonzalez seemingly missed low with a 1-1 curveball. Meals again said Ortiz offered at the pitch, which prompted the nine-time All-Star to throw a tantrum, leading to his ejection with Boston trailing 5-3.
“He’s a competitor, and given some of the calls over the last couple of days, there’s some frustration there,” Farrell said. “There’s a 3-0 pitch (Saturday) that was called a strike that was not, the check swing in his first at-bat and the check swing in the final at-bat.
“Yeah, we want all of our guys to remain in the game. But they’re competitors, and guys are out there giving what they’ve got each and every pitch.”
Tumpane actually started the game as the second base umpire but moved behind the plate when Paul Emmel left the game with an injury before the bottom of the fourth inning. Meals’ calls evidently were what ruffled the Red Sox’s feathers, though, and it isn’t the first time the sides have had a disagreement.
Thumbnail photo via Winslow Townson/USA TODAY Sports Images
