AJ Hinch and Alex Cintron were ejected for arguing balls and strikes with umpire Ron Kulpa during Wednesday night’s Houston Astros-Texas Rangers game.
Cintron, Houston’s hitting coach, was tossed after getting on Kulpa’s case. That led Hinch to come out of the dugout and get in Kulpa’s face. He was quickly tossed, all in the top of the second inning.
It's a little chilly out, but things are running hot on the field.
The Astros get 2 people tossed, including manager AJ Hinch, after arguing balls and strikes.#TogetherWe pic.twitter.com/ArITqYTarl
— FOX Sports Southwest (@FOXSportsSW) April 4, 2019
A.J. Hinch is really steamed, and frankly I don't blame him. Kulpa has been responding to every little thing coming from the Astros bench, and then giving a self-satisfied smirk.
Authorities are meant to de-escalate, and Kulpa has done the opposite of that tonight.
— Levi Weaver (@ThreeTwoEephus) April 4, 2019
Here’s a look at the balls/strikes that set them off:
The entire scene with Ron Kulpa started when he called pitch 1 here a strike to Tyler White. The entire Astros bench erupted and Alex Cintron did not stop yelling.
A.J. Hinch followed soon after pic.twitter.com/g4BOA90sXK
— Chandler Rome (@Chandler_Rome) April 4, 2019
This has been a rough time lately for Hinch and umpires. He also was tossed from a spring training game after getting into it with umpire Angel Hernandez.
