Madison Bumgarner was ejected after pitching one inning on Wednesday following a bizarre substance check from first base umpire Dan Bellino.
Bumgarner came off the mound with some intensity after allowing a run in the bottom of the first inning against the Miami Marlins. Bellino seemed to be setting up Bumgarner. The umpire held Bumgarner’s hand for a while and kept looking at the pitcher’s face rather than his hand.
https://twitter.com/BALLYSPORTSAZ/status/1521899347402702850
Bellino tossed Bumgarner after the pitcher said something.
https://twitter.com/BALLYSPORTSAZ/status/1521900574081527809
In this view, you can see how much Bellino was setting up Bumgarner by just staring at the pitcher rather than conducting a check.
https://twitter.com/BALLYSPORTSAZ/status/1521908022267854850
The ejection put Arizona in a tough spot. Bumgarner was their planned starter. Instead of getting their typical five innings out of the veteran, they got just one. Corbin Martin ended up stepping in and pitching the next four innings.
