Arizona Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo insists his team did not intentionally throw at Bobby Witt Jr. on Monday night, and he was ejected from the game while trying to make that point clear.
Witt Jr. fell a single short of the cycle in the Kansas City Royals’ 10-4 win over the Diamondbacks at Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City, Mo. He had a triple, double and home run all before he came to the plate in the 6th inning, but Diamondbacks reliever Humberto Castellanos hit the star shortstop with the first pitch of the at-bat.
Many felt the plunking was intentional, and the Royals seemed to agree. In the top of the 7th, Kansas City pitcher John Schreiber drilled Gabriel Moreno in the back with a 2-1 fastball. The umpiring crew then got together and warned both sides, which brought Lovullo out of the dugout.
The Royals retaliated for the Diamondbacks hitting Bobby Witt Jr. and the umps warned both dugouts
Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo was HEATED and got ejected, Salvador Perez had some strong words in the exchange too pic.twitter.com/2m1lr9djfn
— Jomboy Media (@JomboyMedia) July 23, 2024
Lovullo was ejected by home plate umpire Jordan Baker. Just before he was tossed, Lovullo called Royals catcher Salvador Perez over so that Perez could be part of the discussion. The D-Backs manager explained after the game that he wanted Perez to know that Lovullo did not instruct his team to hit Witt.
“I just wanted (Perez) to hear what I was gonna say to Jordan. And what I said was, ‘If you think in your right mind that I was gonna ask our team to hit the future of Major League Baseball, one of the best players in Major League Baseball, you’re crazy. You have lost control of this situation and you got it wrong.’ That’s exactly what I said to Jordan Baker and I wanted Salvy to hear that,” Lovullo said. “I wanted him to take it back to their dugout to make sure that he understood that that’s how I felt about the situation and that’s how I feel about Bobby Witt Jr. He’s an unbelievable player, and I would never, ever, endorse hitting another player. I would never do that.”
Lovullo added that Baker should have thrown Castellanos out of the game if the umpire believed Castellanos threw at Witt on purpose. Lovullo thinks Moreno should have then been tossed for retaliating, rather than both sides being warned after the fact.
Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo explains what led up to his ejection, including on-the-field comments to #Royals catcher Salvador Perez.
The ejection came after the Diamondbacks and Royals hit batters with pitches in back-to-back innings, one with Bobby Witt Jr. near a cycle. pic.twitter.com/dzQW8VWUMn
— Bally Sports Kansas City (@BallySportsKC) July 23, 2024
Witt, who has been one of the best players in baseball this year, had another chance to complete the cycle in the 8th inning but flew out to right. The slugger shared a great moment with a fan after falling just short.
