Cincinnati Reds Andrew Abbott St. Louis Cardinals
Cincinnati Reds LHP Andrew Abbott retired the final 18 hitters he faced in a 7-inning start to beat the Cardinals 4-1, lowering his season ERA to 1.79.
Did Jose Trevino actually have the temerity to call umpire Mark Wegner’s attention to Jazz Chisholm Jr. still yapping as he took the field in the bottom of the ninth after striking out in the top half – resulting in the New York Yankees’ third baseman getting ejected just ahead of extra innings Tuesday night.
Of course, he did.
What else would the Cincinnati Reds’ veteran catcher have done?
“I thought he wanted to talk to him,” Trevino said Wednesday with various degrees of smirk and smile throughout his minute or so on the subject with media.
The otherwise mundane midseason ejection of a player for arguing calls during an at-bat took on finger-pointing proportions when Yankees manager Aaron Boone suggested the next day that Trevino had played a role in the ejection by directing Wegner to Chisholm’s jawing from his position on the field long after getting a generous reprieve from the ump during and after the at-bat.
“I thought he was trying to get his attention,” Trevino said earnestly, “so I was just like…”
Trevino spent the past three seasons with the Yankees before going to Cincinnati in an offseason trade for pitcher Fernando Cruz.
When told his former manager Boone didn’t seem to like the way Trevino handled the situation in Tuesday’s ninth, the catcher said with the perpetual grin, “It is what it is.”
Wegner declined through an umpire-room attendant to talk to media after the made-for-New York-headlines airing of potshot grievances.
Chisholm’s actions the game after the ejection only added fuel and virtual ink to the headlines for another night.
When Chisholm homered off Reds starter Brady Singer in the third inning, he seemed to take special delight as he approached third – where Wegner was stationed – raising his palms with a shrug toward the umpire.
Then he seemed to say something to Trevino as he crossed the plate.
“I couldn’t hear him,” Trevino deadpanned.
Then after flying to center in his next at-bat, Chisholm made a point to return to the third base dugout via the plate and batter’s box.
“Yeah, we were chatting,” Trevino said. “We were chatting.”
Friendly chat?
“Yeah,” he said through the smile.
Even as reporters followed up with another question about handling stuff like that on the field and leaving it there, Trevino seemed to be enjoying the so-called controversy and getting under the Yankees’ skin as much as anything.
“I mean, I was his teammate. I’m not going to fight the guy,” Trevino said. “It’s baseball. I don’t know what kind of answer you want me to say. I was his teammate. I don’t have anything against him. I think he’s a good player.”
A good player who – thanks to Trevino – wasn’t in the lineup when his spot came up in the top of the 11th with two out.
Instead, DJ LeMahieu popped up to end the inning, and the Reds scored twice in the bottom of the 11th to walk it off and clinch the series.
Enough said. Except for Trevino’s smile that lingered well after reporters dispersed.