Bombers let their Gard down Gardner throws fit, Happ hit hard as Blue Jays snap Yanks’ streak
TORONTO — Brett Gardner was ejected Friday night in a case of mistaken identity. The Yankees outfielder, who has been known to chirp at umpires from the dugout occasionally, was actually sitting in the dugout quietly when home-plate umpire Chris Segal tossed him from the Yankees’ 8-2 loss to the Blue Jays in the top of the fourth inning.
“I had no idea I had been tossed. Maybe 30 seconds goes by and somebody tells me I’ve been tossed. At that point I went out there to talk to him, tell him I didn’t say anything and he got it wrong,” Gardner said. “Then he looked at me and told me he saw me say it, or say something, which made me mad, because he’s lying. I didn’t say anything. It’s all on video.
“Couple minutes prior I was hitting my bat on the top of the dugout. Last time I checked that wasn’t against the rules,” Gard- ner said. “So, just super frustrating. Just when you think you’ve seen it all… I don’t even know what to say.”
The on-field confrontation that followed — Gardner had to be restrained by Aaron Boone — was really the most spark the Yankees showed at the Rogers Centre Friday night. Mike Tauchman and Mike Ford homered for the Yankees (76-40) and J.A. Happ gave up six runs on three home runs — one to Randal Grichuk, another to Teoscar Hernandez and one to Danny Jansen — as the Blue Jays (48-71) chased him after five.
The video will back up Gardner.
Replays show Cameron Maybin, who had just struck out right before the ejection, yell out what seemed to be “terrible” after a low-strike call on an 0-1 Sean Reid-Foley pitch to Tauchman. Boone, bench coach Josh Bard and most of the dugout had been critiquing Segal’s strike zone most of the night.
Segal, a Triple-A umpire who fills in for vacations and injuries, reacted quickly, seemingly without warning, motioning to the Yankees dugout and making the motion for an ejection.
Tauchman said he could not differentiate Gardner’s voice from the noise while he was at the plate. Boone said he didn’t hear Gardner either.
“I think he heard some stuff from our dugout, threw somebody out and frankly had to come up with something,” Boone said. “I thought it was a bad decision to throw somebody out of the game, but it happened and we had to move on.”
Gardner wasn’t so quick to move on.
At first, Boone thought he had been ejected and went out to argue it. When Gardner realized he had been ejected, he went out for a clarification. Boone did all he could to hold back the veteran outfielder, who spun out of his grasp and charged at Segal.
“Gardy is as competitive and as fiery as they come. If you’re going to get kicked out of a game, you want it to be justified and warranted, so I understand how fired up he was,” Boone said. “And I found out how strong he was trying to hold him back, man. He’s quicker than me, he’s faster, younger, stronger … all of it.”
Crew chief Dan Iassogna came in from second base to try to get control of the situation.
“He said something to me out there about hitting the bat on the top of the dugout. All I asked him if that is against the rules or not,” Gardner said of Iassogna talking to him. “What’s he gonna say. Can’t say Yeah. Like I said, I am usually running my mouth and getting the guys fired up. They picked me.”
Iassogna refused to comment on the incident, saying they will file the mandatory report with the league.
Iassogna also would not say if a warning had been issued before the ejections.
Gardner, whose bat banging earlier this season cause the whole Aaron Boone ‘my guys are f—king savages in that box’ episode, was still furious after the game.
“I am not getting suspended or fined, that’s for sure. Just be better. Be better at your job,” Gardner said. “It’s just an example of a young umpire and the game getting too fast for him.”