Lowe ejected – Pirates second baseman Brandon Lowe was ejected in the fourth inning of Pittsburgh’s 10-9 win over the Twins at PNC Park on Saturday, after an apparent dispute involving an ABS strike challenge that wasn’t granted. Lowe later said he was frustrated with himsel
PNC Park was still humming when Brandon Lowe rounded first base and suddenly the moment turned loud—and then it turned into an ejection.
Lowe, the Pirates’ second baseman, was tossed in the fourth inning of Pittsburgh’s 10-9 win over the Twins on Saturday. The sequence started after Lowe finished his plate appearance having challenged a strike call with the ABS system. Home-plate umpire Alex Tosi did not grant the challenge.
Lowe flied out to left field, but after he rounded first base, he was promptly ejected by crew chief and first-base umpire Jordan Baker. Lowe appeared to say something while rounding, and the exchange quickly escalated into a decision on the field.
Pirates manager Don Kelly described it as a mismatch in what each person thought was happening. “That was just total. like Jordan [Baker] did not understand what [Lowe] was saying. and totally overreacted. I thought. ” Kelly said. “Lowe was upset that he thought that he had swung at ball four. and Jordan thought that he was yelling at the home-plate umpire. and it was a total misunderstanding.”.
After the game, Lowe confirmed that his frustration was aimed at himself, not at the umpiring. He said he was mad that he swung at a high-and-in fastball while he felt he should have been sitting on a changeup.
Kelly said the explanation he received was that the dugout influenced the call, though he disagreed. Kelly, who leads the National League with three ejections this year, stepped out of the dugout multiple times to argue the ruling, but he was not ejected.
For Lowe, the timing made it sting a little more. The ejection was the first of his nine-year Major League career. and he admitted it wasn’t the kind of milestone he would have chosen. “Kind of a sad first ejection, I guess, if we’re looking at ejections as a whole,” Lowe said. “But yeah. I was just frustrated with myself. and let out my frustration to myself. and got thrown out for it. I didn’t even realize that I was thrown out until I was about three-quarters of the way back to the dugout. and saw [hitting coach Jonny Tucker] kind of pointing towards first base.”.
Tyler Callihan replaced Lowe at second base in the top of the fifth inning. Lowe finished the day 1-for-3, with a second-inning single and a run scored. Entering the rest of the season’s grind, he was hitting .261 with an .886 OPS in his first year with the Pirates.
Brandon Lowe Pirates Twins PNC Park ejection ABS Alex Tosi Jordan Baker Don Kelly Tyler Callihan Jonny Tucker MLB