John Lackey was ejected from his start against the Reds in the third inning tonight and, presumably, it was for arguing balls and strikes. His 2-1 pitch to Brayan Pena was called a ball and while he clearly disagreed, he didn't do anything more than any other pitcher does when they don't get a call they like. He did a double-take and went back to the mound for his next pitch. As soon as he got back on the rubber, home plate umpire and crew chief Tom Hallion stepped out from behind the plate, ripped off his mask, and started yelling at him. Hallion cooled down for a second and got back behind the plate, only to rip his mask off again and toss Lackey.
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In the video, you can see Lackey sort of shake his head in disbelief (maybe?) right before he was thrown out. It was a bizarre series that left Lackey genuinely dumbfounded—watch how slowly he lowers his arm after he was ejected—and it's hard not to feel like Hallion overreacted. Even though Lackey apparently disputed some calls earlier, it was the third inning of a tie game and St. Louis is trying to fend off Pittsburgh for the division. Not only did it screw the Cardinals for the rest of this game (they went on to lose 4-2) but the bullpen is going to be hamstrung tomorrow, too.It's still not the fastest ejection for Lackey, though. In his first start for the Angels in 2009 after six-week stay on the disabled list, he was tossed after two pitches: one that went behind Ian Kinsler and another that hit him.[MLB]