The Toronto Blue Jays still can’t escape their frustrating three-game series against the Chicago White Sox from earlier this week.
In the second game of that series, both clubs encountered an egregious strike zone from home plate umpire Doug Eddings, who struggled mightily on Tuesday. More often than not, most of those missed calls were against Blue Jays hitters, which caused tensions to boil over, with pitching coach Pete Walker ultimately being ejected.
One day later, prior to first pitch of Wednesday’s finale, hitting coach Guillermo Martínez got into a heated argument with Eddings as he was exchanging lineup cards with the White Sox. Martínez was eventually tossed from the game and is now being disciplined by Major League Baseball for his actions.
The 37-year-old has received a five-game suspension and an undisclosed fine after he made contact with Eddings during the pre-game meeting at home plate. His suspension will begin Friday, making him unavailable to the team until Wednesday.
For those who missed it, here’s the clip of Martínez confronting Eddings over his poor performance from the night before. As you can see, Martínez repeatedly pointed at Eddings and did briefly touch his shoulder multiple times before leaving the field.
The Blue Jays currently lead the majors in ejections this season – players and coaches – with eight. The next closest team has just four. That’s a pretty wide margin.
Toronto is scheduled to open a three-game slate in Milwaukee versus the Brewers on Friday, with starter Alek Manoah set to make his 14th start of 2022.
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