Alek Manoah had his pitches dancing in the second inning, working the edges and getting soft contact early. He got a first out on a grounder, then fielded his position on a soft bouncer for out two. Then came the drama. Trent Grisham took a few borderline pitches, and the umpire’s strike zone suddenly got inconsistent. Manoah and the dugout didn’t like the calls. A walk was issued, tensions rose, and pitching coach Pete Walker came out for a visit. But the visit wasn’t for Manoah—it was space to voice frustration with the ump.
Walker waited for the umpire to approach so he could say something without showing him up. The mic doesn’t catch all of it, but Manoah signals the ump is close enough to hear. Whatever was said got Pete Walker tossed. The ump claimed Walker touched his hat, but replays show the ump walked right up into his space, their hats briefly grazing. It looked more like the ump initiated contact. Manager John Schneider came out to argue. Walker exited to a round of applause.
Despite the walk and the ejection, Manoah locked in and escaped the inning with a routine fly ball to the track. No runs. Just one frustrated dugout, one ejected coach, and one confused strike zone.