In the sixth inning of Saturday's Los Angeles Dodgers-Philadelphia Phillies game -- an eventual 9-0 win for the visiting Dodgers -- Phillies manager Rob Thomson was ejected after plate umpire Roberto Ortiz refused to reset the pitch clock after Philly starter Aaron Nola asked for a new ball.
Here's a look at the bizarre incident:
After the game, Bill Miller, crew chief and third-base umpire for the contest, explained the decision. Here's part of what he said, via Alex Coffey of the Philadelphia Inquirer:
"Yeah, we have regulations with the pitch clock. Obviously it's very sensitive -- when the pitch clock goes off, and whether or not people are going to circumvent the rules that are in place. Nola did a good job the first two to three innings. And then, as the game went on, he started to throw more and more balls out. Where we felt, he was trying to reset the clock. Which is an attempt to circumvent the pitch clock regulations."
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"It's up to the umpire's judgment. If any player, at any time, is attempting to circumvent the pitch clock regulations."
As well, Miller said, "[Nola] caught the ball. He took two steps, he turned around, and said I need a new ball. He never felt the ball until he took it out and wanted another one."
Miller added that his crew had previously had a similar issue with Alex Cobb of the Giants this season.
Nola postgame also presented his version of events:
Nola on the day wound up allowing six runs, all earned, on seven hits in 6 1/3 innings with seven strikeouts and two walks. The outing raised his ERA for the season to 4.60.
The loss drops the Phillies, the reigning NL champs, to 31-33 on the year. They're in third place in the NL East and nine games behind the division-leading Braves.
