HOUSTON -- Astros manager Joe Espada was ejected in the third inning of Wednesday’s game against the Angels after center fielder Mike Trout was awarded first base on a hit-by-pitch on a ball that struck his hand during a check swing.
Trout started to swing at a pitch from Astros rookie pitcher Ethan Pecko and appeared to hit a grounder to the left side of the infield, but the ball was ruled dead because it struck Trout’s left hand and not the bat. Espada and bench coach Omar Lopez protested from the dugout, with Espada getting ejected by first-base umpire Lance Barrett when he came out of the dugout.
It was the second ejection this season for Espada.
In the first inning, Astros shortstop Jeremy Peña was struck on his right hand while he swung at a pitch, with the ball going into foul territory. He was ruled out on a strikeout. What made Espada upset is that home plate umpire Mike Estabrook asked Barrett for a check-swing call on Trout’s swing attempt, but not Peña’s.
“Tomorrow I’ll probably apologize to Lance,” he said. “I looked at the replay and [Trout] did not swing, but for me it was [that] Mike didn’t check Peña’s, and once Trout gets hit, he immediately goes to Lance. If you’re going to make the call, might as well just check both. I did not like that aspect of things. I went out there and pleaded my case.”