George Springer and John Schneider were ejected from Thursday’s matchup between the Toronto Blue Jays and Cleveland Guardians after complaining about a strike-three call.
Springer was batting in a big spot with runners on first and second and nobody out in the top of the seventh inning and his team down 4-3 to Cleveland. Trevor Stephan had a 2-2 count on the veteran outfielder and threw a 96 mph pitch low in the zone that was called strike three.
Springer complained about the call from home plate umpire Jeremie Rehak and was ejected. Not long after that, Schneider was ejected while defending his player.
The Blue Jays had already scored two runs that inning without making an out, so that strikeout was a big rally killer. Toronto ended up loading the bases but not scoring further. They lost 4-3.
After the game, Schneider acknowledged he deserved to be ejected for what he said. However, he felt Springer hadn’t said anything to warrant being tossed from the game.
Not only did Springer lose an opportunity to hit with a full count in that at-bat, but he also would have come up to bat again in the ninth. Instead, Paul DeJong batted in his spot and struck out.
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