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Garza surprised by ejection on Friday

ARLINGTON -- Matt Garza said he was surprised by his ejection in the ninth inning of Friday's 9-8 loss to the A's while he was in the dugout. Garza was tossed by first-base umpire Joe West for yelling during Kurt Suzuki's at-bat with Jason Frasor on the mound.

"I don't know what happened," Garza said. "To be honest with you, I don't know what happened. I was yelling at Frasor, and probably [it was] just miscommunication or misunderstanding. But it is what it is."

It's common to see players yell from the dugout to voice their displeasure. But Rangers manager Ron Washington said the rare case of a player being ejected depends on the umpire making the call.

"Sometimes [you've] got guys that don't have rabbit ears, and then [you've] got umpires that feel disrespected," Washington said. "In this game, [you've] got to be thick-skinned."

Washington also hopes Alex Rios won't receive any penalty for making contact with third-base umpire Andy Fletcher when arguing a controversial call to end the Rangers' eighth-inning rally. Rios was ejected after he was called out at third base.

"I think that all depends on how the umpire wants to write it up," Washington said. "I think [Fletcher] understands the intensity of the situation, and the competitive juices and spirits going on out there. I certainly hope he takes all that into consideration when he writes his report. That's all that was. It wasn't vicious."

T.R. Sullivan is a reporter for MLB.com. Read his blog, Postcards from Elysian Fields, and follow him on Twitter @Sullivan_Ranger. Master Tesfatsion is an associate reporter for MLB.com.
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