The Toronto Blue Jays continued their nine-game homestand by hosting the Philadelphia Phillies for a three-game series at Rogers Center after winning 2-1 in their previous series against the Baltimore Orioles on Sunday. In Monday’s opener against Philadelphia, the visitors scored early, putting the home team behind for the rest of the game.
Frustration grew in the home dugout, especially after two close strike calls against star first baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr. in the fourth inning. These calls prompted Jays’ hitting coach, David Popkins, to voice his dissent, leading to a brief confrontation with home plate umpire Jansen Visconti, who immediately ejected him from the game.
Fans quickly expressed their opinions on the ejection call, with many arguing that the balls were in the strike zone. They suggested Popkins should have carefully examined the placement of the pitches by Phillies starter Cristopher Sanchez before voicing his disagreement.
“Dumbest thing. There are all kinds of resources where a person can see the actual location within seconds of the pitch being thrown,” one fan commented.
“I still have no idea what he’s hot about. Did they explain on the broadcast?” another fan commented.
“What’s he complaining about? I feel like most of the time this is due to balls/strikes calls, but they have both challenges still?” yet another fan commented.
Some other fans shared hilarious reactions to the ejection call.
“Every team should have an assistant bench coach whose only job is to get thrown out whenever the management team is in danger of getting tossed,” one fan commented.
“Yeah, they were clearly strikes. Weird hill to die on,” another fan commented.
“That dude loves getting ejected,” yet another fan commented.
This was only the second time a Jays coaching staff member was ejected this season, following manager John Schneider’s ejection during a regular-season game against the LA Dodgers.
The Blue Jays Have Been Struggling This Season
The Jays are 32-35 for the season, three games below .500, and are eight games behind the AL East leaders, the Tampa Bay Rays. After a solid series win against the Orioles to start their homestand, the Jays now need to win game 2 against the Phillies on Tuesday to prevent a series loss.
So far, the Jays have been inconsistent in their performances this campaign, but they have a good opportunity to register three back-to-back series wins in the ongoing homestand. The home side will start Dylan Cease in game 2, who will face highly experienced and successful Phillies starter Zack Wheeler in a must-win game on Tuesday.
After the series against Philadelphia, the Blue Jays will conclude their homestand by hosting the New York Yankees for a crucial three-game interdivisional series starting Friday.
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