It took until the 10th game of the Cubs’ losing streak for the frustrations to spill over enough for David Ross to get ejected from a game.
“There is some frustration there,” Ross said after Monday’s 13-3 blowout loss to the Phillies. “I wouldn't say it was building.”
Well, it certainly hit a tipping point Monday, long before the Phillies turned a close game into a laugher, the Cubs’ 10th straight loss. Ross was ejected for arguing balls and strikes.
Stay in the game with the latest updates on your beloved Chicago sports teams! Sign up here for our All Access Daily newsletter.
In the sixth inning, Bryce Harper took a 3-1 pitch from Rex Brothers for a strike. The Phillies superstar smacked his bat on home plate and appeared to say something to home plate umpire Nic Lentz.
“It felt like from my standpoint, he complained and got a call from complaining,” Ross said of Harper. “I felt like [Lentz] got talked into a zone.”
The next pitch to Harper was down and just out of the zone, ruled ball four. Ross left the dugout to voice his thoughts before first base umpire Joe West intervened.
Ross acknowledged postgame he was wrong. In that moment, though, he felt he had to take a stand for his team.
“We've got to overcome that adversity, no doubt,” he said. “But from my standpoint, I need to fight and hold [the umpires] as accountable as I possibly can from my standpoint and try to help out the group as I know that they're trying to do the best they can.”
MLB
Ross also mentioned a call in Cincinnati over the weekend against Patrick Wisdom that might have contributed to the frustration.
The Harper at-bat didn't impact the outcome of Monday's loss. Philadelphia outscored the Cubs 11-0 after Ross was ejected.
"It’s a fine line," Ross said. "I don't want to be the manager that complains about every strike when you're in the middle of a stretch that we're in right now.
"That's counterproductive as well, but that one in particular felt like in the moment, he kind of swayed with a high-profile player on a borderline pitch."
Click here to follow the Cubs Talk Podcast.
