WATCH: D-backs skipper Torey Lovullo ejected after on-field spat with umpire during White Sox game
Torey Lovullo and the Arizona Diamondbacks's two-game winning streak came to a halt after a disappointing defeat against the Chicago White Sox on Saturday. The Diamondbacks manager was ejected from the game after arguing with plate umpire Nick Mahrley.
Lovullo was visibly frustrated by the calls made by the plate umpire at Chase Field. His emotions finally got the better of him during the eighth inning when he approached Mahrley after a strike call on first baseman Christian Walker.
Nick Mahrley didn't want any part of Lovullo's arguments and he ejected him immediately. However, the Diamondbacks manager continued making his point to the plate umpire.
Torey Lovullo addressed his ejection from the game after they slumped to a 9-2 defeat, admitting his frustration with some of the calls made by the home plate umpire which he deemed 'too much' to take.
“I just was frustrated, I had enough,” Lovullo said postgame. "I just felt like there were some missed calls that got to be too much for me. I probably need to balance my emotions a little bit better, but sometimes I go on tilt and that’s what happened.”
Torey Lovullo defends Thyago Vieira’s intentional balk
The Chicago White Sox were awarded a balk after Thyago Vieria dropped the ball on the mound in the second inning. Lovullo revealed that it was intentional from the pitcher as White Sox second baseman Martin Maldonado was able to read Vieria's pitches and was relaying it to Andrew Vaughn.
“It was a forced balk,” Torey Lovullo said. “Maldonado is very crafty and he was giving signs. He was 9 for 9 — he didn’t miss one. We picked up what his habit was, giving the sign to the hitter, and we just felt like it was too risky.”
It was a rare prolific outing for the White Sox offense who cashed in four home runs on the night against a struggling Diamondbacks rotation. Diamondbacks rookie Tommy Henry was taken for five runs over five hits in four innings as the White Sox registered just their second win in seven games.
While the White Sox remain the team with the worst record in the MLB this season, they have a chance to claim a series victory when they take on the Diamondbacks for the final game on Sunday.