Detroit Tigers slugger Miguel Cabrera saw his night end almost before it began in a loss to the Chicago White Sox on Monday night after he was ejected in the first inning. Chicago pitcher Chris Sale threw a slider that hit Cabrera on the leg, but home plate umpire Brian Gorman ruled that Miggy failed to check his swing and actually swung at the pitch. Cabrera was ejected in the middle of the at-bat for protesting the call.
The ejection seemed to thrill Sale, who got to pitch an entire game without having to retire the game’s best hitter. When he returned to the dugout following the first inning, Sale jokingly pointed to the sky and celebrated. He later told MLB.com’s Scott Merkin that he was giving thanks that “the best hitter to ever walk the planet” had to leave early.
Ted Williams fans would probably argue that Sale is exaggerating a bit, but you get the point. The 24-year-old lefty has been one of the best pitchers in the game this season, racking up 207 strikeouts to go along with a 2.90 ERA. He can probably handle Cabrera a bit better than the American League’s more average pitchers, yet he was still beyond pumped. Considering Cabrera is capable of homering on pitches like this, we can’t say we blame him.
H/T Big League Stew
