PHILADELPHIA — In the sixth inning of Saturday’s game against the Philadelphia Phillies, Francisco Cervelli stood up and exchanged some words with home plate umpire Lance Barrett, prompting manager Clint Hurdle to emerge from the dugout and ask for an explanation.
The conversation, Cervelli and Hurdle explained, was about the fact that the white line at the back of the batter’s box had disintegrated.
“Francisco felt like their hitters were taking liberties, and Lance said they’d be more than happy to mark it off, just it’s going to affect some of your hitters, too, because they’ve been coming up and taking the same liberties,” Hurdle said.