Maddon's first Cubs ejection comes after key homer
Myers gives Padres lead after controversial ball call could have ended inning
CHICAGO -- Joe Maddon received his first ejection as the Cubs' manager on Friday afternoon. He was in no mood to continue complaining after the game.
Maddon and the club believed home-plate umpire Sam Holbrook should have called a third strike on Wil Myers in the seventh inning. On the next pitch from reliever Brian Schlitter, Myers hit a three-run home run to give the Padres the lead in their 5-4 victory over the Cubs.
With a 0-2 count facing Myers and two outs in the inning, Schlitter's third pitch was called a ball. Schlitter threw a two-seam fastball on the next pitch that Myers drove to center field for his first homer of the season.
Video: SD@CHC: Myers cranks a three-run shot for the lead
"Even though we probably should've gotten the call there, we still have to make a better pitch on the next pitch," Maddon said. "That's part of this game. You're not always going to get the calls you're looking for. I'm not here to cry about it. I don't want us to be crybabies."
Maddon had an animated conversation on the mound with Holbrook after the home run.
"I felt really strongly about [Schlitter] right there," Maddon said. "The biggest thing there is he's probably the guy who puts the ball on the ground more than any of our relief pitchers, so I thought it was a better chance of a ground ball. Of course, we like to have that pitch called a strike, but even after it wasn't, you have to make a better pitch than that. So, I'm not going to sit here and blame umpires for a lack of execution."
Maddon said he also wanted a called third strike on the pitch before Will Middlebrooks' two-run home run off starter Jason Hammel in the fourth inning.
"Oh yeah, that was intentional, absolutely," Maddon said about his ejection. "We still have to execute better in the moment, but I can't permit that to happen without saying something. I really believe even prior to the home run by Middlebrooks, that was a strike also, so I let that one slide and I just couldn't let it slide twice."