Oakland Athletics first baseman Ryan Noda was ejected from Monday night’s 7-0 loss to the Boston Red Sox after he appeared to draw a light line in the dirt after striking out.
Noda, after being called out swinging in the seventh inning in Oakland, swiped his bat through the dirt as he started walking toward the dugout. Home plate umpire Emil Jimenez immediately threw Noda out of the game.
That sent manager Mark Kotsay running out to question the ejection and left Noda confused.
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While it’s not an official rule, drawing a line in the dirt is often considered a slight to the umpire behind home plate. Batters have drawn lines in the dirt to symbolize where they thought the ball crossed home plate — or well outside of home plate — in the past and are frequently ejected on the spot.
Philadelphia Phillies star Nick Castellanos was tossed immediately in April after he bent down and touched the dirt following what he thought was a poorly called third strike.
Seattle’s Julio Rodriguez was ejected from a game last season after he drew a clear line in the dirt after a called strike. Rodriguez’s ejection was much more definitive than Noda’s or Castellanos’.
In the top of the 8th in a 9-0 game, Julio Rodriguez was ejected from the game.
He was rung up on an inside pitch that he did not like and drew a line in the dirt. pic.twitter.com/1FUQMC8V5N
— Jomboy Media (@JomboyMedia) June 1, 2022
Although Noda barely swiped the dirt and he actually swung on the third strike, Jimenez wasted no time ejecting him.
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The Red Sox cruised to the 7-0 shutout thanks largely to a four-run sixth inning that included a two-run double from Connor Wong, a sacrifice fly from Adam Duvall and an RBI from Yu Chang. They held the A’s to a single hit, and Boston pitcher Nick Pivetta matched a career-high 13 strikeouts after he replaced starter Brennan Bernardino.
The win marked Boston’s third in four games since the All-Star break. The A’s have lost eight in a row since before the break.
“I’d like to say you just wash this game,” Kotsay said, via NBC Sports. “Pivetta was good. We struggled with the same two pitchers in Boston. We came out tonight, and Pivetta just dominated us really. There’s no other way to really describe it … You run into a buzz saw sometimes, and tonight seemed to be that night.”
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