Cincinnati Reds manager Terry Francona and pitcher Nick Martinez were ejected for arguing a called strike three on batter Matt McLain during Wednesday night's game in Kansas City.
It happened as McLain led off the top of the ninth with the Royals leading 3-2. With the count 1-2, Royals reliever Carlos Estevez threw a fastball low in the strike zone. McLain did not swing, thinking it was a ball, but home plate umpire Carlos Torres called strike three.
McLain did not argue and walked back to the dugout, but Torres then pointed to the Reds dugout and tossed pitcher Nick Martinez, apparently for criticizing his call. As it was unclear who was ejected, Francona came out of the dugout asking "Who'd you throw out?" After a clarification, Francona made some comments to defend his player, probably along the lines of criticizing Torres' strike zone. Torres did not appreciate the comments and ejected Francona.
Reds manager Terry Francona and pitcher Nick Martinez were both ejected after this strike three call pic.twitter.com/HV9gXKhLBJ
— Jomboy Media (@JomboyMedia) May 29, 2025
We have seen managers ejected this season for arguing terrible strike three calls. The call by Torres did not appear to be a bad call from our vantage point. We would guess that Francona and Martinez felt that the strike zone was not consistent between Reds and Royals pitchers during the game.
Francona's ejection did not inspire a rally, as the Reds were unable to get a runner on base. The Royals came away with the 3-2 victory.
Moonlighting as a blogger to pursue my interest and enjoyment of sports. Former high school and Division I athlete (now a "retired" family man) that loves watching and discussing all sports. Follow me on Twitter (@HoldoutSports) and like Holdout Sports on Facebook.
