BOSTON (AP) – Orioles starter Kevin Gausman was ejected in the second inning of Wednesday night’s game against the Red Sox after hitting Boston’s Xander Bogaerts with a pitch – the latest in a series of beanballs and brushbacks that have turned the teams’ matchups this season into a boiling rivalry.
Hours after a conference call in which MLB chief baseball officer Joe Torre sent the message “Enough is enough,” Gausman plunked Bogaerts on the hip with his 20th pitch of the game. Rather than issue the customary warning, home plate umpire and crew chief Sam Holbrook immediately tossed Gausman.
Orioles manager Buck Showalter sprinted out of the dugout to complain, and Gausman appeared to be arguing that the pitch was a curveball that did not break. The pitch, recorded by radar guns at 76.6 mph, hit Bogaerts on the hip.
It was not known whether the umpires were under orders from MLB to automatically toss any pitcher who hit a batter – under these circumstances, it wouldn’t be unheard of.
The feud has developed at the same time that the city of Boston rallied in support of Orioles outfielder Adam Jones, who reported being called racial slurs by a fan at Fenway Park during Monday night’s game. The team apologized, as did the Boston mayor and Massachusetts governor, and Red Sox players came to Jones’ defense.