Mackanin ejected, benches warned in Phillies loss

The Phillies fell to the Mets, 4-3, in the series opener Monday night.

The Phillies jumped out to an early 2-0 lead and only trailed after a Jay Bruce homerun broke a 2-2 tie in the 8th. The homer, Bruce’s second of the night, scored Asdrubel Cabrera, who was walked by Edubray Ramos.

Ramos’ first pitch to Cabrera  sailed high, whizzing by his head. Cabrera and Ramos exchanged words, or at least macho posturing, while Rupp calmed Cabrera down until the umps took over.

The benches were warned, and Mackanin had some choice comments for the umpiring crew, who were quick to eject the usually stoic manager. Anyone looking to learn lip reading would be advised to start by watching a clip of the ejection.

Ramos maintained after the game that the he lost his grip on the pitch, but Phillies beat writers suggested during the game that the pitch was retaliation for Cabrera’s exuberance when he flipped his bat after going yard off Ramos last September

It would be disappointing if Ramos’ pitch had been intentional. Even those in favor of beaning a player would agree that the 8th inning of a tie game is a terrible time for that sort of showmanship, especially for such a silly reason. And let’s not overlook the fact that Odubel Herrera, Ramos’ own teammate, flips his bat every time he gets the wrapper off his gum. (And I sincerely adore him for it.)

In the future, I suggest a strongly worded letter and fewer base runners.

Clay Buchholz and the Phillies square off against Matt Harvey tomorrow night. Follow the action with us on Twitter @PhilliesNation.