Dodgers frustrated with calls in 9th

ST. LOUIS -- When Adrián González returned to the dugout in the ninth inning of the Dodgers' 2-0 loss to the Cardinals on Thursday, he knew the full-count pitch he'd struck out on was a little outside. Upon hearing from his teammates that it was even more out of the zone than he'd thought, there was little question about what would happen next.
Frustrated with the called strike three and some other pitches throughout the game, Gonzalez found his day over shortly after. He was ejected by home-plate umpire Marty Foster for arguing balls and strikes.
"Leadoff guy gets on, being myself, a home run ties it up," Gonzalez said. "So it's a big at-bat. It's a big pitch. I'm not a guy who takes too many pitches up there."

Before long, Gonzalez had some company.
After a Chase Utley single, Yasmani Grandal struck out swinging in an at-bat that had another pitch that appeared to be outside called for a strike. Grandal wasn't interested in talking about his first career ejection after the game -- "I'm not talking about it," he said -- but Gonzalez had no problem sharing his view of the sequence.

"You want [the umpire] to kind of realize maybe he did get it wrong, so maybe he calls better pitches going forward," Gonzalez said. "But obviously he didn't, because he called two bad ones to Grandal. I know they've got a plane to catch. So they're worried about other things."
Gonzalez said he also was frustrated by a conversation Foster had with Dodgers manager Dave Roberts.
"Funniest thing is that he told Dave afterward that he's been calling pitches off the plate all game, so he wasn't going to change," Gonzalez said. "So apparently he agreed that they were balls, but because he'd been calling them, it's OK to call."
While Roberts wasn't asked about the conversation, he did say that Gonzalez's frustration likely came from earlier at-bats in the game. He added that while he wants to see his guys composed, he understood the display of emotion.
The Dodgers finished the series with just one run in their last two games. Gonzalez went 0-for-4 with two strikeouts in the finale, while Grandal struck out in his only at-bat of the day.
"You're out there competing, and when you feel you're getting strikes taken away, that bat getting taken out of your hand, it gets frustrating," Roberts said. "Our guys know the strike zone pretty well. Certain times when you're frustrated, you're going to voice your opinion. So I don't want to take the compete out of the guys."