Umpire Defends Ejection Of Orioles’ Kevin Gausman After Hit-By-Pitch In 4-2 Loss To Red Sox

Home plate umpire Sam Holbrook has defended his decision to eject Orioles starter Kevin Gausman after hitting Boston’s Xander Bogaerts with a pitch early in Baltimore’s 4-2 loss to the Red Sox at Fenway Park on Wednesday night, the most recent incident in a string of attacks between the two teams that have created a tense rivalry.

Umpire Defends Ejection of Kevin Gausman In Orioles’ Loss to Red Sox

Both the Orioles and Red Sox were warned by MLB commissioner Rob Manfred, as well as the league’s chief baseball officer Joe Torre, in a conference call hours before the game that punishments for foul play would become more sever, given the jabs both teams have exchanged in recent days. Torre even said “enough is enough.”

In the second inning, Gausman struck a turning Bogaerts in the hip with a 76-mph curveball and was immediately tossed from the game, despite arguing that the hit was unintentional and came on a pitch that did not break.

“I didn’t know who he threw [out] at first,” Gausman told reporters after the game, per MLB.com. “Just complete bush league, to be honest. To throw me out in that situation, after what Sale did yesterday, throwing 98 behind a guy, on purpose, everybody knew it. And, they’re going to throw me out for hitting a guy with a curveball, 0-0 in the second inning? It’s pretty bush league.”

Righty after Holbrook motioned for Gausman to leave the field, Orioles catcher Caleb Joseph was the first to vehemently contest the call, and began screaming in the umpire’s face.

Baltimore manager Buck Showalter was forced to step out of the dugout and calm Joseph down while also arguing with Holbrook, who released the following statement:

“Just given the situation and the tension between the two clubs and all the stuff that’s gone over the past few weeks, we’re all on high alert with anything,” Holbrook told a pool reporter. “I know that the ball was a curveball, but it hit him square in the back and just making a split decision at that point right there. There needs to be an end to this stuff, and I felt like an ejection was the right thing to do at that time, and that’s what we did. Thankfully, we didn’t have any more problems the rest of the game.”

Another Orioles player, outfielder Adam Jones, was also thrown out by Holbrook in the fifth inning after striking out swinging and arguing with the umpire over the call. Jones was frustrated with a late strike call earlier in the at-bat.

This all comes after the city of Boston, including top officials like Governor Charlie Baker and Mayor Marty Walsh, expressed support for Jones after the outfielder, who is African-American, was subjected to racist taunts and had objects thrown at him in Monday night’s game at Fenway Park, the opener of the four-game series between the two teams.

The Red Sox also formally apologized, and Jones received a long and thunderous ovation from the Boston crowd on Tuesday night before his first at-bat. Nevertheless, tension resurfaced that night in Game 2 when Red Sox ace Chris Sale struck the next Baltimore batter, Manny Machado, behind the knees with a pitch that led the Orioles’ 24-year-old Dominican-American third baseman to launch a profanity-laced rant following the game.

This incident prompted the call Wednesday afternoon with Torre, the two managers, Red Sox president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski and Orioles GM Dan Duquette. Red Sox manager John Farrell stated Torre had told the teams to cut it out, but added there were no warnings about hitting batters.

“I guess the best way to describe it is: I can confirm that there was a call and it happened for both clubs, to basically address the last two weeks and to say, ‘Enough is enough,'” Farrell said, adding that he hoped that would be the end of it.

Machado, meanwhile, seems to have little or no intention of patching things up with the Red Sox, as he said after his rant on Tuesday exactly how he felt about the team.

“I lost my respect for that organization,” Machado stated. “If they’re going to hit me, hit me. Go ahead. Get it over with. Don’t keep lingering it around and doing that. I’ve lost mad respect for that team and that organization.”

Sale, for his part, seemed unencumbered by Machado’s anger.

“Whatever, man,” he said. “I’m not losing sleep tonight.”

 The Orioles and Red Sox will face off for the fourth and final game of the series, which Boston leads 2-1, on Thursday at 7:10 pm EST at Fenway Park. The two teams meet again in Baltimore from June 1-4.

 BOSTON, MA – MAY 3: Kevin Gausman #39 of the Baltimore Orioles pitches against the Boston Red Sox during the first inning at Fenway Park on May 3, 2017 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)