CHICAGO -- Matt Davidson didn't agree with home-plate umpire Mike Estabrook's called strike three to end the sixth inning during Tuesday's 1-0 loss to the Mariners at Guaranteed Rate Field.
But Davidson was not alone in his disagreement. White Sox manager Rick Renteria came out to protect his designated hitter in between innings, and Estabrook ejected Renteria. It was Renteria's first ejection this season, eighth with the White Sox and 14th of his career.
"The young man, over several at-bats, he's not a guy that's very vocal," said Renteria of defending Davidson. "He lets those guys do their job.
"All of our players, to be honest, allow those guys to do their job. I think when he's expressing himself -- in a very calm fashion by the way -- to the umpire, I just wanted to make sure I got out there in time that it didn't escalate."

With the White Sox trailing by one run and two outs in the sixth, Welington Castillo singled to send Tim Anderson to third and set the stage for Davidson against Seattle starter Marco Gonzales. Davidson swung and missed at two pitches out of the zone and then took the called third, which was also outside according to Statcast™.
It was the third of four strikeouts for Davidson. He acknowledged Estabrook had called a wider zone for both teams all afternoon, but he was disappointed in the call with the game on the line.
"In situations like that, where you want to get the guy in at 1-0, it's tough," Davidson said. "And it's tough when it's strike three. Sometimes it's not that bad when it's first pitch, but when you get called out on a pitch you are trying to make sure is a strike. ... That's just how it goes.
"When guys have really good zones and they walk a lot, and they know the strike zone, the umpires know that as well. So you want to stand up for yourself a little bit. I do know the zone, and I know that's a ball. That's kind of what I did, I just said something. I didn't say anything too crazy. I just said that I didn't think that was a strike and that was it."
Davidson understands debating umpires' calls from time to time is part of the game, and he certainly wasn't using the disputed strike as any sort of excuse. He also appreciated Renteria's support after his own brief discussion with Estabrook.
"He backs us 100 percent," Davidson said. "It feels good to have a manager that will do that for you. We all love him, and so do I. For him to come out and back me on that, it's something you want to see as a player."