BOSTON -- Orioles starter Kevin Gausman's night ended in the second inning, when home-plate umpire Sam Holbrook ejected the right-hander for hitting Red Sox shortstop Xander Bogaerts with a pitch, a 76-mph curveball, to open the inning on Wednesday night.
In the wake of a conference call from Commissioner Rob Manfred to both the Orioles and the Red Sox prior to the game, Holbrook did not hesitate to eject Gausman from the game, though no prior warnings had apparently been issued to either team before the start of the game.
On Tuesday night, the strain between the two sides was tightened when Red Sox lefty Chris Sale threw behind the head of Manny Machado, who expressed his extreme displeasure in an expletive-filled rant following the game.