Baltimore Orioles: Kevin Gausman’s Ejection Continues Bad Blood with Boston Red Sox
By Keaton Moore
The Baltimore Orioles continued their series at Fenway Park and the ejection of Kevin Gausman fueled their tension with the Boston Red Sox.
A wild series at Fenway Park continued on Wednesday night, but not without furthering the preexisting tension between the Boston Red Sox and Baltimore Orioles. The back-and-forth purpose pitch battle continued and consequently, Orioles starting pitcher Kevin Gausman was ejected from the game.
After one inning of work, Kevin Gausman hit Xander Bogaerts to leadoff the second and was immediately ejected by home plate umpire Sam Holbrook.
Yet, Bogaerts was struck by a
that did not break. Not exactly the kind of purpose pitch you want to send or anything close to those we have seen between these teams this season.
Given the circumstances surrounding these two teams, Holbrook issued an official warning to both dugouts prior to the game. Combined with the unusual nature of this hit-by-pitch, more than likely Holbrook jumped the gun and assumed the worst.
And how can you blame him after what has transpired between these clubs?
Building off the normal tension between interdivision rivals, this feud began when Manny Machado unintentionally slid into Dustin Pedroia at second base on April 21. The momentum of his front leg caused Machado’s right foot to crash into Pedroia’s left calf.
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Although he limped off the field, Pedroia was not seriously injured on the slide, missing only three games. Furthermore, Machado reached out to Pedroia over text after the game and was one of the first on the field to make sure he was ok.
Machado and Pedroia seemed to bury the hatchet, but Boston’s pitching staff felt otherwise.
Two games after the controversial slide, Matt Barnes threw a fastball that barely missed Machado’s head in the eighth inning. Instead, it hit his bat for a foul ball and Barnes received a four-game suspension for his blatant purpose pitch.
Just over a week later, the Orioles arrived at Fenway Park, where Dylan Bundy began the series by hitting Mookie Betts in the sixth inning of the opening game.
Next: Sox Attempt to Hit Machado--Again
In retaliation, Chris Sale wasted no time in sending Machado a purpose pitch that went behind the third baseman’s knees. Now Sale faces potential suspension for his actions with no end to this tension in sight. These two teams meet next for a four-game series from June 1-4 at Camden Yards.