Lovullo contrite over Molina tiff

Arizona manager Torey Lovullo says he regrets his choice of words that set off St. Louis catcher Yadier Molina and triggered a benches-clearing incident.

Lovullo came out of the dugout to argue with plate umpire Tim Timmons in St. Louis on Sunday, blaming the umpire for a called third strike he claimed was influenced by the All-Star catcher’s pitch framing.

Lovullo used a profanity that set off Molina, and the manager was ejected.

“I said what I said,” Lovullo explained Monday. “I made a mistake with some of the wording that I chose.”

The Arizona manager said he praised Molina while using a profanity and said “but he can’t turn balls into strikes.”

Molina’s version was “he said a bad word to me and I reacted that way. He called me (it) twice. You can’t allow that.”

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