MINNEAPOLIS -- Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol was ejected from Saturday’s 9-6 win over the Twins in the bottom of the eighth inning after arguing a delayed ABS challenge from Minnesota’s Austin Martin.
Per the ABS rules, if a batter, pitcher or catcher wishes to initiate a challenge, they must tap their cap or helmet roughly within two seconds of the pitch. Martin appeared to stretch the limit before challenging a strike call on a 3-2 pitch from Cardinals reliever Chris Roycroft in the eighth inning.
Home-plate umpire Adam Beck granted Martin's challenge, and the pitch was ultimately deemed to be off the plate, flipping a would-be strikeout into a one-out walk. The overturn drew a heated Marmol out of the dugout to argue, and he was tossed for the first time this season.
“It was the amount of time in between the tap and when the call was made,” Marmol said. “I said something the first time it happened [earlier in the game]. [Beck] didn’t like it. I didn’t like it. I go inside the locker room.”
Martin ended up coming around to score after Byron Buxton and Kody Clemens both followed with singles, cutting St. Louis’ lead to 9-5. But JoJo Romero got Royce Lewis to ground into an inning-ending double play and Riley O'Brien finished off the Cards' win in the ninth.