Bryce Harper ejected, benches clear after Rockies pitcher taunts Phillies’ dugout
Phillies designated hitter Bryce Harper was ejected from Sunday afternoon’s game against the Rockies at Coors Field in the middle of the seventh, an inning after manager Rob Thomson was tossed.
The Phillies were being shut out, and were hitless with runners in scoring position, at the time and the frustration boiled over after Rockies reliever Jake Bird seemed to taunt the visitor’s dugout after recording the final out in the top of the seventh. Bird was also ejected.
Harper had to be restrained after running onto the field and both benches emptied.
Bird walked the first two batters he faced, then got Edmundo Sosa to ground into an apparent double play. The Phillies tried to challenge — replays seemed to show that Colorado second baseman Harold Castro may not have had his foot on second for the force and that Sosa could possibly have beaten the throw to first.
But the umpires ruled that the Phillies had not declared their intention to challenge quickly enough and crew chief Jeff Nelson declined to send the play back to New York for review.
In the sixth, Kyle Schwarber disagreed with a called third strike. When Thomson came out to protect his left fielder, he was quickly tossed by home plate ump Ron Wills.
