Orioles' Gausman tossed after curveball hits Red Sox batter as tense series continues
Things are still weird in Boston between the Orioles and Red Sox
By
Dayn Perry
•
1 min read
Given all that's gone on between the Orioles and Red Sox during the current series at Fenway Park, tensions and anticipation were high heading into Wednesday night's game (BAL-BOS GameTracker).
Sure enough, it didn't take long for things to get interesting ...
Kevin Gausman ejected for hitting Xander Bogaerts with a 77 MPH curveball, the ump messed up here #Orioles
— Around The Bases POD (@AroundBasesPOD) May 4, 2017
pic.twitter.com/Rtfz4UWr4h
That's Baltimore starter Kevin Gausman hitting Xander Bogaerts and getting ejected for his troubles. As you can see, though, Gausman and his catcher Caleb Joseph mounted vigorous objections because Gausman threw a curveball to Bogaerts ...
Velocity of the Gausman pitch that hit Bogaerts, resulting in the ejection: 76.6 mph.
— Buster Olney (@Buster_ESPN) May 3, 2017
That's not exactly purpose-pitch velocity right there. He didn't spin it properly, and it got away from him. No intent there. But he was booted.
While it's understandable that the plate ump might have a quick trigger given the recent back-and-forth between these two teams, it's worth noting that the O's and Sox did not begin Wednesday night's game under official warning. In that light, it's hard to understand why Sam Holbrook tossed Gausman. The decision becomes even more curious once you consider that in Tuesday night's game, Boston starter Chris Sale was warned and not ejected for throwing a high-90s fastball behind Manny Machado.
The simplest explanation is that Holbrook, already on edge, overreacted to a pitch that pretty clearly wasn't intended to send a message.
