Shelton ejected over 'disagreement' with inconsistent pitch clock enforcement

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- The Pirates have not played well so far against the Rays in this week's series, and deserved every bit of the 8-1 loss Wednesday night at Tropicana Field.

But, in the Pirates' eyes, the umpires have made their mistakes too.

Derek Shelton was ejected by crew chief Adrian Johnson in the fourth inning of Wednesday night's game after the Pirates' skipper exchanged some heated words with home plate umpire Quinn Wolcott over the enforcement of the pitch clock.

"I had a disagreement with how the clock was being run," Shelton said. "I had a disagreement with how the clock was being run yesterday. This is an issue that I discussed with MLB this morning and I”m sure we’ll probably discuss it tomorrow. I had an issue with how the clock was being run."

In the sixth inning of Tuesday's 4-1 loss, Shelton and the Pirates believed Ryan Thompson should have been called for a balk or pitch clock violation, which would have made it a 3-2 deficit at the time. However, all four umpires didn't see a balk or pitch clock violation, and despite Shelton arguing with Johnson over it for quite a bit, nothing came of it. Not even an ejection.

On Wednesday, after Ji Hwan Bae reached first base on a bunt single, the 30-second pitch clock in between batters stopped when Austin Hedges stepped up to the plate. Shelton asked why the clock stopped, and things escalated very, very quickly.

"The umpire had a disagreement with my assessment of it and we had a conversation about it," Shelton said.

That "conversation" wound up taking place when Shelton ran onto the field when Johnson ejected him right as Rays' starter Shane McClanahan was about to throw a pitch. Both the Pirates' and Rays' television feeds picked up plenty of the expletive-laced exchange with not one, not two, but three different umpires.

On top of Shelton's ejection, Pirates bench coach Don Kelly earned a warning from Johnson, who went on to warn the Pirates' dugout that he was watching them.

Shelton was very clear after the game that this hasn't been a problem for umpires this season. It's understandable if it were a bit of a problem. This is the first season Major League Baseball has ever had a clock. There's bound to be an adjustment period. But, Shelton praised what umpires around the league have done regarding the pitch clock.

"I thought they’ve done a really good job of it this year," Shelton explained. "It’s been paid attention to. It’s been extremely consistent, and that’s what I told MLB this morning: I thought it was consistent." 

But then, he made it abundantly clear: "I did not think it was consistent the last two days."

Regardless of how the pitch clock is enforced, Wednesday was not a good look for this umpire crew. Johnson's "I'm watching you" gesturing to the Pirates' dugout after Shelton's ejection could easily be seen as instigating. Before that, as Shelton marched back over in Wolcott's direction, first base umpire Manny Gonzalez slightly bumped Shelton with his shoulder in what appeared to be an attempt to guide him back to the dugout. Shelton immediately noticed, and it's clear that he yelled, "Don't f---ing touch me," after Gonzalez did it.

If either of those situations were reversed, there'd likely be hefty consequences for it, especially if someone made the same type of contact with an umpire in the same way Gonzalez did with Shelton.

Since there has been friction between the Pirates and this crew in each of the first two games, it'll be interesting to see if any of that carries over into Thursday afternoon's finale as the Pirates try to avoid the sweep.