Warren Schaefer picked up his first career ejection as Rockies manager after disagreeing with back-to-back strike calls in the third inning against the Dodgers. Freddie Freeman wasn’t happy with a low strike call on the first pitch of the at-bat, then got rung up on an even lower breaking ball to end the plate appearance. From the side angle, the second pitch looked like it caught the zone, but Freeman wasn’t buying it. Schaefer voiced his frustration with the umpire, saying, “That’s twice,” and was quickly tossed. His reaction involved spiking his gum and cap before continuing the argument, insisting the pitch was too low and the ejection was too fast.
Schaefer later explained why he chucked his gum, saying he once got fined for spitting during an argument and didn’t want to repeat that. He stuck around for a bit to get one more point across before heading off. Ironically, the very next pitch after the ejection was also a breaking ball below the zone called a strike, showing nothing had changed despite the outburst.