SAN DIEGO -- Padres manager Craig Stammen and infield instructor Ryan Goins were ejected from Tuesday’s 8-7 victory over the Rockies after a heated exchange with home plate umpire Jeremie Rehak in the bottom of the fourth inning.
Shortstop Xander Bogaerts attempted to challenge a 1-0 sinker from Rockies right-hander Michael Lorenzen, which appeared well below the zone. But Rehak did not grant the challenge, because he believed the dugout had influenced Bogaerts’ decision.
Both Bogaerts and Stammen disputed that notion. Bogaerts said he’d challenged entirely of his own volition, tapping his helmet quickly without looking toward the dugout.
Per MLB rules, players must challenge immediately after the pitch, roughly within two seconds. Umpires can disallow challenges if they feel they were aided by other parties.
“You’re not allowed from the dugout to influence someone to challenge, and it was a call that we believed was very much a ball,” Stammen said. “Our dugout just exploded because we’re rooting for Xander so hard. We’re in the at-bat with him. … The umpire took it as us influencing Xander to challenge the pitch.
“Which, if you look at the timing of when Xander challenged the pitch, I don’t agree with that. That’s why we got in an argument.”
Stammen emerged to argue briefly, and Bogaerts made his case as well. But Stammen and Goins weren’t ejected until a pitch later.
Bogaerts grounded into a forceout on the ensuing 1-1 pitch. But Rockies second baseman Edouard Julien dropped the ball on his attempt to transfer and turn a double play.
Stammen signaled for play to be held up in case of a review. In the meantime, Goins was tossed from the top step of the dugout. Stammen and Rehak got into it again, and Stammen was tossed as well -- the fourth ejection of the season for the first-year manager.
“ABS is a new thing,” Stammen said. “I know we’re 100 games into the season or whatever. But umpires are trying to figure it out, we’re trying to figure it out. … In the end, it’s just a disagreement.”
Of course, it’s not the first time that a low called strike on Bogaerts has sparked a kerfuffle. He was at the center of a controversial call in the postseason last year. In the decisive Game 3 of the Wild Card Series against the Cubs, he led off the ninth inning by working the count full and taking what he thought was ball four. It was called strike three, and Bogaerts was later fined for his conduct afterward.
This time, Bogaerts got the last laugh. At the end of a wild, back-and-forth game, his walk-off sacrifice fly proved decisive.