SAN DIEGO -- The Padres entered play Sunday in the midst of their longest losing streak since 2013. Clearly, it isn’t sitting well.
Manager Craig Stammen and infield coach Ryan Goins were ejected -- not even one batter into Sunday’s game against the Dodgers at Dodger Stadium.
The Padres took issue with a close check-swing call on an 0-1 pitch from Dodgers starter Emmet Sheehan to Fernando Tatis Jr. Their dugout barked at first-base ump Ben May, before plate ump Nick Mahrley ejected Goins after Sheehan registered a ball for a 1-2 count. Stammen emerged to argue with May, and he was tossed as well.
It was Stammen’s third career ejection as a manager (after a 13-year career in which he wasn’t ejected once).
Publicly, Stammen has taken an extremely positive approach amid the team’s recent struggles.
“You keep showing up every day, knowing that you’ve got games to play yet,” Stammen said after Saturday’s loss ran the losing streak to eight games. “This little stretch does not define our season.”
But there’s clearly some frustration building, and it came to the fore in the first inning on Sunday.