BALTIMORE — Kyle Seager didn’t realize he’d been ejected from Thursday’s game by umpire John Tumpane until he saw manager Lloyd McClendon charging from the dugout in protest.
“My back was to (Tumpane),” Seager said. “I didn’t say anything I haven’t said before but, when I said stuff, I was walking away.”
The ejection came after a called third strike in the fifth inning that resulted in a double play when Robinson Cano was thrown out trying to steal second base. The Seattle Mariners trailed 4-3 the Baltimore Orioles at the time.
“I’d like to say that’s baseball,” McClendon said, “but that’s not baseball. I didn’t think that was warranted … I don’t know. Maybe (Tumpane) got tired of the Orioles (complaining) about balls and strikes all day.”
Tumpane did show considerably more restraint an inning earlier when Baltimore’s Alejandro De Aza protested a called third strike. De Aza continued to protest from the bench until Tumpane held up a hand. In contrast, Seager got a quick ejection — and it left the Mariners puzzled.
“I don’t understand,” said veteran Willie Bloomquist, who replaced Seager at third base. “You can’t even talk anymore. We’re competitors. It’s the middle of a key situation, and you drop an f-bomb. Everyone takes it so darn personal. It’s like, ‘Dude, we’re competing. It’s the heat of the moment. It’s nothing personal.’ And quick fuse, boom, you’re gone. That’s a big blow for us. That’s our five-hole hitter.”
The impact of the ejection was evident later in the game. Twice, Bloomquist batted with the bases loaded; both times he failed to get a run home. The Mariners ended up losing 5-4.
“That’s very frustrating,” Seager said. “I put Willie in a very bad situation there. That’s inexcusable. I need to be there for my team. I need to be in that game. That was really tough on Willie.”
Bloomquist blamed himself for failing to deliver.
“I expect myself to come up in those situations and do more than I did,” he said. “I expect to get it done, but it’s unfortunate to lose a player of (Seager’s) caliber over something that seemed pretty darn quick.”
Jackson to stay in Tacoma for now
It appears rehabbing outfielder Austin Jackson, who is recovering from a sprained right ankle, will remain at Triple-A Tacoma at least through the weekend.
Mariners manager Lloyd McClendon reiterated his hesitancy to have Jackson return to active duty for the upcoming three-game series at the Rogers Centre in Toronto, where the spongy turf is notoriously hard on players’ legs.
Jackson suffered the injury May 3 while running out a grounder at Houston. He entered Thursday’s game at Iowa 3-for-16 in four games for the Rainiers.
The Mariners travel to Tampa Bay after their series in Toronto. That means three more games on artificial turf, but the surface at Tropicana Field is generally viewed as being easier on the legs than the Rogers Centre.
Change for the better
Left-hander Roenis Elias credits an improved changeup for his success this season in compiling a 2.76 ERA in five starts since his April 26 recall from Tacoma.
“Very important,” he said after limiting the Orioles to one run in 7? innings Wednesday in a 4-2 victory. “Last year, I had a lot of problems with my changeup. This year, I worked on it.
“I threw my changeup too hard last year. This year, I’m letting the grip work.”
Elias often relied on curveballs in the past, but he said he threw only a handful in his 96-pitch outing,. He relied instead on a mix of fastballs and changeups.
Seattle’s Nelson Cruz reported his former Orioles teammates were impressed.
“Chris Davis told me he was filthy,” Cruz said. “He was dealing, especially with the changeup. He was pounding hitters early with the fastball, and then later in the game, he went with changeups.”
Mariners catcher Mike Zunino said: “I don’t think I can explain what he got out of his changeup. He worked ahead so well, and his changeup was down in the zone.
“He was able to attack guys, and he got swings and misses and weak fly balls. He had that two-pitch command, with his fastball and his changeup, that you need to go deep into a ballgame.”
Minor details
Tacoma shortstop Ketel Marte entered Thursday’s game at Iowa as the Pacific Coast League leader in hits (55) and ranked second in batting average at .346. Marte had five more hits than anyone else in the league.
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