Orioles manager Brandon Hyde was ejected in the third inning of Friday’s series opener with the Minnesota Twins, saying he felt there was a “disrespectful exchange” between home-plate umpire Ramon De Jesus and Baltimore’s dugout.
The disagreement stemmed from a first-pitch called strike against Cedric Mullins. Mullins ended the at-bat with a double to tie the game at 1. The Orioles lost, 3-2, on Byron Buxton’s walk-off home run in the ninth.
“During the Mullins’ at-bat, there was a disrespectful exchange between the home-plate umpire and our dugout,” Hyde said after the game. “I felt it warranted me to go out there and see what was going on, and it got heated from there. And we’ll go through the proper channels with it.”
On the field, Hyde spoke with De Jesus and crew chief Alfonso Márquez. As he returned to the dugout, Hyde put his hand up, seemingly to tell an Orioles player continuing to yell toward De Jesus to stop. Bench coach Fredi González became the Orioles’ acting manager with Hyde’s ejection.
It marked Hyde’s second ejection of the season, the first coming April 21 in Oakland, arguing whether Trey Mancini turned toward second base on a play at first; Mancini was also ejected on that play. It’s Hyde’s eighth career ejection.
The Orioles (35-43) are coming off a 14-12 June, their first winning calendar month in Hyde’s four-season tenure.
Their frustrations with De Jesus’ strike zone continued after Hyde’s exit. In consecutive at-bats in the top of the seventh, Adley Rutschman struck out looking on a pitch seemingly below the zone, and Rougned Odor took two pitches that appeared up and away for called strikes. Odor left much of his batting equipment on the ground at home plate.
“I think there was some frustration from both sides with the strike zone, but I don’t think that it’s gonna linger into tomorrow,” Hyde said. “We turn the page and go from there.”
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