Manager Buck Showalter Pulls Orioles Pitcher Before Home Run Batter Rounds Bases [Watch]
The Baltimore Orioles continued their slump with a 6-2 loss against the Boston Red Sox, cementing their last place position in the American League East (13-29). The Orioles narrowly escaped a shutout as Red Sox pitcher David Price threw an excellent, complete game that was only thwarted by the batting of Orioles slugger Manny Machado.
CBS Sports reports that things took a strange turn when Orioles Manager Buck Showalter broke protocol and shot out of the dugout before Xander Bogaerts rounded third base after hitting a three-run home run off of Orioles pitcher Kevin Gausman. Showalter walked to the mound to eject Gausman before Bogaerts ever touched home plate.
Buck Showalter refused to hide his frustration with the current Orioles season as he stomped to the mound. R.J. Anderson of CBS Sports reminds readers that Showalter still has time left on his contract.
“As a reminder, Showalter is contractually obligated to manage the Orioles for 119 more games.”
Buck Showalter wasn’t interested in speaking to the Boston Herald following the game about the rush job to pull his starting pitcher, but Red Sox base runner Bogaerts was willing to talk about the strange occurrence and wasn’t sure if the Orioles Manager’s move was kosher.
“I did, I did, I did see it. I mean, I don’t know if you can do that or you can’t. I wasn’t worried either. But I kind of saw him as I was rounding third, you know?”
The Herald wanted to know what Bogaerts made of the manager approaching the pitcher’s mound while runners were still rounding the bases.
“At that time, not much, I was focused on touching the bases and getting my home run. But I saw him, I didn’t think anything of it but afterwards, the guys, they’ve never seen stuff like that happen on a daily basis, that was weird.”
When the manager gives zero shits about your feelings. #Orioles #Buckshowalter pic.twitter.com/i5BKMQ5SKQ
— Full Count Chaos (@FullCountChaos) May 18, 2018
USA Today says that Showalter’s frustration is understandable as the Orioles are in the midst of a 13-game losing streak. Showalter and the Orioles will have to shake off their negative feelings if they are going to make something of the rest of their three games at Fenway Park opposite the Red Sox who are on a roll. The Orioles have another whole week on the road before they get to return home to play in Baltimore.
