BOSTON -- Kansas City Royals manager Matt Quatraro was ejected Monday night for arguing a checked-swing call on a 3-2 pitch with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning against the Boston Red Sox.
It was an important play, too: Instead of an inning-ending strikeout of Luis Urias, the bases were loaded for Pablo Reyes, who hit a walk-off grand slam to give Boston a 6-2 victory.
"Yeah, I can't think of being much more frustrated than that," Quatraro said. "I mean, he gets the strikeout to move to extra innings -- and then he didn't. I don't really have much else to say about that."
The Royals rallied from a 2-0 deficit to tie the game in the seventh. It was still 2-2 when Rafael Devers one-hopped the short wall in right field, then Adam Duvall struck out (for the fourth time in the game) and Triston Casas was intentionally walked.
Urias appeared to go around on the 3-2 pitch, and the Royals began walking off the field as they appealed to first base umpire Vic Carapazza. But he waved his arms safe, and the Royals dugout began shouting across the diamond at him.
Carapazza quickly pointed at the dugout and tossed Quatraro.
"Well, obviously I thought he went," the Royals manager said. "Vic makes the call, he's got the better angle, but I obviously disagreed."
Two pitches later, Reyes ended it.
Red Sox manager Alex Cora acknowledged after the game that the umpires' job can be difficult.
"It's a tough job," he told reporters. "I'm not an umpire so I'll leave it at that. But it's a tough job."
Information from the Associated Press was used in this report.