The St. Louis Cardinals beat the Minnesota Twins 9-6, but the night’s sharpest flashpoint came in the bottom of the eighth when manager Oliver Marmol was ejected after arguing a delayed ABS challenge involving Austin Martin.
The St. Louis Cardinals walked into the late innings with a lead, then watched it get tangled in one decision after another.
In the bottom of the eighth inning, manager Oliver Marmol was ejected while arguing with officials over a late ABS challenge connected to Minnesota’s Austin Martin. The argument was sparked by how much time passed between Martin’s tap and when the home-plate umpire made the call.
Under ABS rules. if a batter. pitcher. or catcher wants to initiate a challenge. they have to tap their cap or helmet within two seconds of the pitch. Martin tapped after two seconds, and the home-plate umpire still granted the challenge. The call was reversed into a one-out walk, and Marmol’s reaction didn’t stay in his seat.
“It was the amount of time in between the tap and when the call was made,” Marmol said via Bill Ladson of MLB.com. “I said something the first time it happened [earlier in the game]. [Beck] didn’t like it. I didn’t like it. I go inside the locker room.”
The Cardinals didn’t let the disruption steal the result. They still pulled out a 9-6 win over the Twins, and the season record sits at 38-30.
That ejection landed in the middle of a broader moment for St. Louis. With the deadline approaching, the Cardinals are looking to improve their roster—especially on the pitching side. MLB insider Ken Rosenthal pointed to pitching as the most urgent need.
“They traded (Brendan) Donovan (this past offseason). they traded him with two years of control because they are trying to upgrade their pitching. ” Rosenthal said on Foul Territory TV. Rosenthal also suggested that (Lars) Nootbaar could be another piece involved in an effort to bring in pitching help.
Everything about Saturday’s game had an edge: a win that kept moving. and an argument that flared because the timing rules weren’t being applied the way Marmol believed they should be. By the time the Cardinals were celebrating the 9-6 decision. Marmol wasn’t in the picture anymore—just the question of how one short delay can swing the balance of a moment.
St. Louis Cardinals Minnesota Twins Oliver Marmol ABS challenge Austin Martin ejection Bill Ladson Ken Rosenthal Brendan Donovan Lars Nootbaar MLB
So it was like a cap tap thing?? baseball is getting so weird now.
I swear ABS rules are never consistent. One ump is like “sure” and another is like “nope.” And then dude gets tossed like it’s a fight.
It says Martin tapped after 2 seconds and they still let the challenge happen—so why is anyone even mad? Feels like Marmol just wanted to argue to argue. Also Cardinals traded Donovan for pitching… so of course it’s gonna be messy lol.
Delayed ABS challenge sounds like some gambling scam to me. Like how much time passed between the tap and the call??? That shouldn’t even matter, the league makes these rules then acts shocked when managers react. Cardinals won anyway but ejections always distract me, I don’t even watch replays.