Chicago White Sox pitcher Lance Lynn was ejected from the game Wednesday after appearing to throw a belt in the direction of an ump during a check for foreign substances at Chicago’s Guaranteed Rate Field.
At the top of the fourth inning, Lynn quickly scuttled off the field before third-base umpire Nic Lentz could get to him to check for sticky stuff. The ump followed Lynn to the dugout telling him he needed to be checked, ESPN reported.
Lynn said he put his glove and hat on the dugout rail for the inspector to review, but he did not immediately take off his belt. The ump called out to Lynn that he needed the bet, too, and it appears in a video of the incident that Lynn tossed it toward the ump.
Apparently, that was all the ump needed to toss the pitcher from the game.
“He was late getting over, so I left my glove and my hat, and then while I was going down in the dugout, trying to see the trainers because I’m dealing with something, he yells at me that he needs to see my belt,” Lynn said after the game. “So I toss it up and then he throws me out.”
Sox manager Tony La Russa tried to argue the ump out of the penalty, but it was to no avail.
“Obviously, I hurt his feelings,” Lynn said of the incident. “He threw me out because I tossed my belt, and I said, ‘Well, if you were on time, we wouldn’t have this problem.'”
The White Sox ultimately won the game, 3 to 2.
There was trouble Wednesday for Oakland’s pitcher, as well.
The game also saw a brutal ball to Athletics starting pitcher Chris Bassitt’s head from the bat of White Sox center fielder Brian Goodwin who hit a 100-mph liner in the second inning. The team took the precaution of sending Bassitt to the hospital after the hit. It was later reported that Bassitt suffered a fractured cheekbone. He also suffered lacerations to his face that required stitches.
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