CINCINNATI -- Pirates manager Clint Hurdle and left fielder Starling Marte were ejected during the sixth inning of Wednesday night's 5-4 win over the Reds at Great American Ball Park for arguing the result of a replay review.
Marte was hit by an Alfredo Simon pitch, remained in the game and tried to steal second. He was ruled safe, but the Reds challenged the call, asserting that Marte's hand came off the bag as he slid past it. The instant replay appeared to validate their argument, but Marte thought Reds second baseman Brandon Phillips pushed his hand off the bag.
"I felt like I was safe, then all of a sudden I noticed Phillips pushing me off the bag like he always does, joking around," Marte said through interpreter Mike Gonzalez. "That's something I wish the umpire would have noticed, but I guess he didn't."
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After a 2-minute, 48-second replay review, the call was overturned and Marte was ruled out, ending the inning.
"Thank goodness for replay, I guess," Reds catcher Tucker Barnhart said. "I didn't really get a good grip on [the ball], so I had to kind of take a little bit more time so I didn't throw it into center field."
In the confusing aftermath of the review, Hurdle and Marte were ejected. Hurdle was tossed immediately and quietly by crew chief Jeff Kellogg, as is the rule when a manager argues the results of a reviewed call.
"Once I go out, I'm thrown out. Jeff just wanted to keep it in-house because he understood the argument I had," Hurdle said. "There's no sense in citing anything, him getting big and hand-pumping me. ... When Marte got thrown, I got a little more aggravated."
Marte was ejected by second-base umpire Alan Porter, and the reason behind that decision remains unclear.
"General misbehavior, I guess. Alan Porter didn't like the way he handled himself," Hurdle said. "I asked [Porter] what [Marte] said. [Porter] didn't even know what [Marte] said. I said, 'That kind of doesn't work.' A little strange to me."
Said Marte: "I kept my mouth shut. When I came back out, I really didn't say anything for him to feel like he could kick me out of the game. ... I really haven't gotten an explanation. I know they asked [Hurdle] what I said wrong, and they said, 'I don't know what he said.'"
They were the Pirates' first ejections of the season.
After the game, Hurdle said he will reach out to Major League Baseball to discuss some of the calls in Wednesday's game, particularly Marte's ejection.
"Technically, did he come off the base? Yeah. Was he pushed off? I thought without a doubt," Hurdle said. "For whatever reason, nobody else seemed to, that mattered, to make the call. We'll make some calls tomorrow and try to get some clarification, try to figure some things out."