John Farrell On Game 4 Ejection: 'I Never Argued Balls And Strikes'
BOSTON (CBS) -- Red Sox manager John Farrell had to watch his team get eliminated on Monday from the Boston clubhouse.
The Boston skipper was ejected for arguing balls and strikes in the bottom of the second inning of Monday afternoon's ALDS Game 4 against the Houston Astros at Fenway Park. The discrepancy came after Dustin Pedroia struck out looking on a questionable inside pitch, one batter after Jackie Bradley Jr. went down looking on a pair of iffy strike calls by home plate ump Mark Wegner.
Pedroia immediately voiced his displeasure with Wegner after he was rung up, and Farrell came out to protect his player. While Pedroia was allowed to remain in the game, Farrell got the toss. He told reporters after the 5-4 loss that he didn't say anything about Wegner's strike zone, but was still given a quick hook by the ump.
"I went out to get Pedey away from Mark Wegner. Obviously it was a key moment and Pedey disagreed with the call. I did not argue balls and strikes, and that was surprising when I got ejected at that point," said Farrell. "There was nothing derogatory or anything directed at him. I never argued balls and strikes. It was a quick hook. … The reason he gave me was, 'I'm not going to have you stand here and yell at me.' I told him I was trying to get my player away from him; it was more important to me that Pedey remained in the game. The rest took care of itself."
Boston bench coach Gary DiSarcina took over for Farrell after his ejection, which came with the Red Sox trailing 2-1. They had loaded the bases with no outs before Bradley Jr. and Pedroia struck out, and Xander Bogaerts popped out to right field to end the Boston threat.
Houston won 5-4 to advance to the American League Championship Series, while the Red Sox were knocked out in the first round for the second straight season.
