Frustrations rise as 3 Pirates personnel ejected

PITTSBURGH -- When asked to describe all that had unfolded at PNC Park on Sunday, particularly the latter game of the doubleheader, Bryan Reynolds used “long.” It was an apt adjective, but on a night like that, several more adjectives may have been appropriate to paint a full picture.

Before the Pirates fell to the Reds, 6-5, in 10 innings to split the doubleheader, manager Derek Shelton, bench coach Don Kelly and pitching coach Oscar Marin were ejected in the span of a minute by home plate umpire Nic Lentz in what was, unquestionably, one of the most frenetic moments of the Pirates’ season.

“I think the most frustrating thing is [Lentz] just started running people and basically said, ‘You’re all gone,’” Shelton said. “When Donnie got out there, [Lentz] goes, ‘I don’t know who it was, I just threw him out.’ You very rarely see Donnie Kelly lose his cool and you got to see Donnie Kelly lose his cool. The first two were warranted, probably -- arguing balls and strikes. That last one, I think he just started throwing people out and he was not aware of what the situation was.”

The inception of the Pirates’ displeasure with Lentz occurred in the bottom of the fifth inning when Reynolds, who homered twice, was rung up on a payoff fastball outside of the strike zone. Reynolds, thinking he had earned a free pass, began walking to first base, but Lentz called him out. Reynolds, visibly frustrated, slumped his shoulders and took several slow steps up the line before heading back to his dugout.

In the top of the sixth, their displeasure evolved into anger. With runners on first and third, the count at 1-2, Cody Bolton fired a high fastball to Luke Maile. Bolton’s fastball wasn’t in the exact same location as the pitch that struck out Reynolds, but the pitch was roughly the same height. The pitch was called a ball and the plate appearance went on, but not before several personnel on the Pirates’ bench -- Shelton, Kelly and Marin included -- voiced their opinions, prompting Lentz to remove his mask and retort.

Four pitches later, the count at 3-2, Bolton threw another high fastball in a nearly identical spot to his 1-2 fastball. Again, Lentz called the pitch a ball and Maile had a walk to load the bases. From there, emotions spilled over.

Before Maile began jogging to first base, Lentz ejected Kelly despite Shelton’s contention that Kelly had not said a word. Shelton then sprinted out the dugout steps and confronted Lentz, prompting Lentz to eject Shelton. Before Lentz and Shelton began their exchange, Marin, who yelled from atop the dugout steps, was ejected.

“The situation was the coaching staff were arguing balls and strikes on multiple pitches,” said crew chief Chad Fairchild. “They were warned to stop. When Nic looked over there, there were multiple personnel in their dugout arguing balls and strikes. So with all of those people and coaches there together, Nic ejected the [coach] standing next to Shelton.”

Once Shelton departed from the field, Kelly rose up the steps and argued extensively with Lentz and Fairchild. While Kelly argued, left-hander Ryan Borucki raised his right arm and said, “I said it,” potentially in reference to how Kelly remained quiet during the altercation. Borucki was not available for comment following the game.

“[Kelly] is very even-keeled,” Reynolds said. “Sometimes you just gotta get mad.”

Added Fairchild, “It was multiple personnel arguing balls and strikes. At that point, when we’re looking over there and we’ve got multiple people, we had to do our job and that’s exactly what happened.”

With Shelton, Kelly and Marin all ejected, third base coach Mike Rabelo, who managed in the Minor Leagues, assumed the role of manager. Hitting coach Andy Haines, bullpen coach Justin Meccage and game planning and strategy coach Radley Haddad served as Rabelo’s impromptu coaching staff. Unsurprisingly, the home crowd was a tad more spicy the remainder of the night, booing with extra vigor whenever any umpire made a call that didn’t benefit the Pirates.

“I think that rallied us up right there,” Reynolds said. “I love seeing those guys get fired up and do that sometimes. I liked it.”