Mike Shildt had seen enough, and he was so angry with plate umpire Adrian Johnson that he made a spectacle by tossing his spectacles.
A tantrum on Monday by San Diego’s manager following the first major league ejection of star slugger Fernando Tatis Jr fired up the Padres, who overcame a three-run deficit in the eighth inning to beat the New York Yankees 4-3 on a soggy night and extend their winning streak to six.
“Shilty came down the tunnel and he was still chirping,” said Xander Bogaerts, who hit a go-ahead, two-run single off Luke Weaver that followed Manny Machado’s two-run double. “I think he was ready to fight.”
Photo: AP
Tatis was ejected after a strikeout, causing Shildt to rush out onto the field, throwing his lineup card and then his glasses. He argued so vociferously with Johnson and first base umpire Quinn Wolcott that third base coach Tim Leiper ran over in case intervention was needed.
“My glasses made it. I did have my head about me to make sure,” Shildt said after the game. “I made sure it stayed in the grass. I didn’t want them scratched. I like these glasses a lot.”
Devin Williams entered with a 3-0 lead and walked Tyler Wade with one out in the eighth, then allowed a single to Brandon Lockridge. Williams threw four straight changeups, his famous Airbender, to Tatis. The two-time All-Star took the third at the bottom of the strike zone for strike two, then swung over an even lower pitch.
He said something in Johnson’s left ear before taking a turn to the dugout and was immediately tossed. Tatis said it was his first ejection since winter ball as an 18-year-old.
“Ah, what did I say? I forgot,” Tatis said, laughing. “I’m just happy I got the boys hyped.”
“I’d just been complaining all game. It was a rough night,” he added. “After the strikeout I just let him know what I thought.”
San Diego’s players became invigorated by the emotion.
“You can feel it. It’s energy,” Wade said.
Three-time batting champion Luis Arraez then walked on four straight fastballs.
“Tatis made me hot,” Arraez said. “I love Mike Shildt. He supports his players, and when I saw that thing, I said: ‘We come back.’”
Yankees manager Aaron Boone brought in Weaver, who had not allowed a run in 13 prior appearances this year. Machado doubled on a 1-1 fastball, cutting the deficit to 3-2, and Bogaerts singled on a first-pitch cutter.
“Tati had some pitches that [he] didn’t agree with — I didn’t agree with earlier and made my comments from the dugout known, which I don’t do a ton,” Shildt said. “Did it. Walks away, hand over his mouth, and next thing you know he’s ejected, walking away with his back turned for his first major league ejection.”
Shildt’s ejection was the 15th of his six-season managerial career.
“I probably have the fewest amount of player ejections in my time managing, so our players play, they stay in the game, they’re very respectful, rightfully so, to the umpires,” he said. “I’ll let the body of the work for the umpire grade speak for itself, and we’ll leave it at that.”
A two-time All-Star acquired from Milwaukee in December, Williams has a 10.03 ERA in 14 games with the Yankees, walking 10 in 11-2/3 innings. On a night with near-constant rain that caused a pair of 28-minute delays, Williams said he had trouble with his landing spot.
“I couldn’t figure it out with the release point on my fastball,” he said.
He had pitched three hitless innings in his three prior appearances since losing his closer role and felt he had turned around his season.
“I feel like I still have,” he said.
Yankees fans booed Williams as soon as he fell behind hitters.
Elsewhere, the Braves beat the Reds 4-0, the Dodgers mastered the Marlins 7-4, the Royals blanked the White Sox 3-0, the Cubs downed the Giants 9-2, the Brewers overcame the Astros 5-1, the Cardinals crushed the Pirates 6-3, the Mets edged the Diamondbacks 5-4 and the Athletics sank the Mariners 7-6 in 11 innings.
Additional reporting by staff writer
The pressure was already on Real Madrid coach Xabi Alonso before their 2-1 defeat to Manchester City on Wednesday in the UEFA Champions League raised further questions about his future. Arsenal remain perfect in this season’s competition and three points clear at the top of the standings after a 3-0 win against Club Brugge, while defending champions Paris Saint-Germain were held 0-0 at Athletic Bilbao. The clash between Madrid and City was the standout game of the round amid reports this week that Alonso had lost control of the locker room. Speculation over his position is likely to intensify after the latest
‘HIGH STANDARD’: The Thunder are on track for a Finals-Cup double after they scored 22 three-pointers in equaling the best 25-game start to a season in NBA history The Oklahoma City Thunder on Wednesday bagged a 16th straight victory, thrashing the Phoenix Suns 138-89 to romp into an NBA Cup semi-final clash with the San Antonio Spurs, who stunned the Los Angeles Lakers 132-119. NBA Most Valuable Player Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 28 points to lead the reigning NBA champions Thunder, who improved to 24-1 to equal the best 25-game start to a season in league history. They dominated from start to finish to book their place in the final four of the in-season tournament in Las Vegas, where they are tomorrow to take on the Spurs. The New York Knicks and
The Olympic flame for the Milan Cortina Winter Games landed in Rome on Thursday following a handover in Greece. The flame was carried in a small lantern aboard an ITA Airways flight between the Greek and Italian capitals. Tennis player Jasmine Paolini — an Olympic gold medalist — and local organizing committee president Giovanni Malago carried the flame off the plane. “I feel honored. It’s an incredible emotion,” Paolini said in brief remarks before the lantern was driven away toward the presidential palace. A 63-day torch relay covering 12,000km is to start in Rome today and wind its way through all 110 Italian provinces
The Kashima Antlers won a record-extending ninth Japanese title on the final day of the J. League season yesterday, holding their nerve to beat the Yokohama F. Marinos 2-1. Watched by Brazilian legend and former player Zico, the Antlers went into the game at their packed home stadium with a one-point lead over Kashiwa Reysol in the table. A goal in either half from Brazilian striker Leo Ceara put the Antlers in control, but Yokohama struck in the first of five minutes of second-half injury time to set up a nail-biting finale, with Reysol winning their game 1-0. The Antlers saw out the