ST. PETERSBURG -- Three players were ejected from Saturday afternoon’s game between the Rays and the Angels at Tropicana Field before Tampa Bay starter Drew Rasmussen threw his first pitch.
Angels reliever Brent Suter and rehabbing Rays pitchers Steven Wilson and Manuel Rodríguez were all ejected by third-base umpire Lance Barrett following a national anthem “standoff” that lasted long past the final words of “The Star-Spangled Banner” and ended moments before the game started.
With Rasmussen ready to go on the mound and Angels leadoff man Zach Neto in the batter’s box, Suter was still standing in front of the visitors’ dugout while Wilson and Rodríguez were flanked by Rays mascots Raymond and DJ Kitty in front of Tampa Bay’s dugout.
Barrett then calmly indicated that all three had been ejected, and the game began as scheduled at 4:10 p.m. ET.
Suter was unlikely to pitch in Saturday’s game, regardless, after throwing 25 pitches over 1 2/3 innings in the Rays’ 8-5 win in Friday night’s series opener at Tropicana Field. Rodríguez and Wilson have been on the injured list all season, with Rodríguez working his way back from right elbow surgery while Wilson has been sidelined since Spring Training by lumbar disc inflammation.
The game didn’t exactly get off to a normal start, either. Rasmussen, a model of dependability and efficiency, gave up a grand slam to Wade Meckler in a 36-pitch first inning, the second-longest frame of his career. Then Yandy Díaz hit a leadoff homer for the second straight day before the Rays also loaded the bases, only for left-hander Reid Detmers to strand all three runners.