Tulo ejected after arguing called third strike

KANSAS CITY -- Rockies shortstop Troy Tulowitzki was ejected by home-plate umpire Dan Bellino in the fourth inning after arguing a called third strike during Wednesday's 3-2 loss to the Royals.

Batting against former Long Beach State teammate Jason Vargas, Tulowitzki was called out on a 3-2 pitch. After initially expressing his discontent, Tulowitzki returned to the dugout. But then, Tulowitzki appeared to yell something from the dugout just before Bellino threw him out of the game. Rockies manager Walt Weiss came out to discuss the situation with Bellino as Tulowitzki left the dugout.

Tulowitzki, who drew a two-out walk in the first in his only other plate appearance, entered the game with a Major League best .394 batting average, 11 homers and 33 RBIs.

"I thought the pitch was in," Tulowitzki said. "I was in the dugout and he didn't give me a warning or anything. I said some stuff from the dugout ... short leash."

Did Tulowitzki have any regrets about not finishing the game?

"You're battling and competing," Tulowitzki said. "You're in the moment. To sit there and say 'do you regret doing that?' No, because we weren't playing well the last couple of games. Sometimes that lights a little spark under the team. The easy thing to say is, he would have come up this inning or that inning. But that's just somebody watching who's not in the moment."