Detroit Tigers skipper Ron Gardenhire earned his first ejection of the 2020 season last night against the Cleveland Indians after vociferously arguing a call with umpire Tim Timmons.
Jeimer Candelario hit a line drive down the right field corner that became lodged in the padding on the right field wall. Indians outfielder Tyler Naquin grabbed the ball and threw it back into the infield, but by then, Miguel Cabrera had scored and Candelario was on his way to 3rd base.
However, umpires called the play a ground rule double, prompting an immediate protest from Gardenhire.
“From what we were told, that’s in the umpire’s hands and they make that call regardless of whether the fielder raises his hands or not,” said bench coach Lloyd McClendon, who took over as acting manager after Gardenhire’s ejection. “It’s a little conflicting for us because we had the same play with Stewart a few days ago and his hands were not raised and they made no call.
“Once the ball is lodged, the ball is lodged,” Timmons said. “The ball is dead at that point and everybody moves up two bases.”
McClendon was referring to a play on Wednesday against the White Sox after Christin Stewart wasn’t able to easily get the ball out of the wall padding, allowing Chicago’s Tim Anderson to get to 3rd base.
– – Quotes via Evan Woodbery of MLive Link – –
BONUS CONTENT: Ron Gardenhire concerned about team pitching
It’s official – the Detroit Tigers starting pitching rotation is struggling.
Manager Ron Gardenhire had a frank response when asked about his team’s pitching following their 18th consecutive loss at the hands of the division rival Cleveland Indians, a 10-5 setback that was powered by a six-run fourth inning with Ivan Nova on the mound.
It definitely wasn’t Nova’s finest outing. He gave up two long balls while also surrendering eight earned runs on five hits, two walks, and one wild pitch. He now sports a 8.52 ERA on the season, while Detroit’s starting staff as a whole stands at 7.47.
