Willson Contreras was ejected after arguing a called third strike and flung his bat, which struck Cardinals hitting coach Brant Brown.
Contreras said he didn’t object to the pitch and was only asking for consistency from the home plate umpire.
The incident stemmed from a borderline pitch that umpire Derek Thomas called strike three on Contreras in the bottom of the seventh inning.
As Contreras was walking back to the dugout, he apparently said something that got him ejected. Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol came out to argue as Contreras turned around and became more animated in his protests. Marmol ended up having to hold his player back until other Cardinals coaches stepped in.
As they were walking off the field, Contreras, still holding his bat, flung it toward the field – stiking hitting coach Brant Brown in the arm.
Afterward, Contreras said he didn’t understand why he was ejected in the first place.
‘I didn’t argue any pitch,’ Contreras said. ‘The only thing I said was, ‘Call the pitches on both sides because you’re missing for us.’ That’s it. Then, I turned around. The next thing I hear, he threw me out. He had no reason for it.’
Contreras was still angry as he left the field. He said he didn’t look back when he flung his bat behind him. He said he later apologized to Brown for hitting him.
Still not finished showing his displeasure, Contreras flung a bucket of bubble gum out onto the field before finally heading into the clubhouse.
The Cardinals ended up winning the game 7-6 on a walkoff home run by Alec Burleson.