(670 The Score) A blowout series finale between the White Sox and Angels got spiced late in the game Thursday afternoon.
With his team trailing 9-3, White Sox reliever Mike Wright was ejected with two outs in the top the ninth inning after hitting Angels star Shohei Ohtani in the front leg with a 90-mph fastball. Wright had nearly hit Ohtani two pitches earlier with a fastball, and the hit by pitch caused the umpires to come together to confer, after which they tossed him.
That upset White Sox manager Tony La Russa, who then also got ejected for arguing. Wright hitting Ohtani wasn’t intentional, La Russa said postgame. The Angels had hit White Sox batters three times Tuesday, and La Russa thought there was a double standard.
“Their reasoning did not make sense,” La Russa said. “He felt that there was stuff flying the first game (of the series). It was all us getting hit, and they didn’t do anything.
“We pitched Ohtani tough all series. He had a couple soft hits against us. But (umpire Bill Welke) ruled that was intentional. He made a mistake. It wasn’t consistent with the umpiring judgment throughout the series.”
On the flip side, Angels manager Joe Maddon did believe the White Sox intentionally hit Ohtani, Jeff Fletcher of the Southern California News Group reported.
The Guaranteed Rate Field crowd chanted “Tony, Tony, Tony” as he argued. La Russa also took some frustration out on a dugout telephone before heading to the clubhouse.
With Wright ejected, lineup chaos ensued for the White Sox, who had no one warming up in the bullpen and chose not to burn a reliever. Instead, infielder Romy Gonzalez took the mound – apparently after pitching coach Ethan Katz asked for a position player volunteer to pitch – and struck out Angels catcher Max Stassi. White Sox slugger Jose Abreu shifted to play third base after serving as the designated hitter. That move burned the designated hitter for the White Sox, though it didn’t matter given the game was a blowout.
The Angels won 9-3.