Chicago White Sox starter Davis Martin insisted that there was no intent behind the two pitches at Cincinnati Reds first baseman Sal Stewart's head in the third inning of Thursday's game.
Stewart hit a home run off Martin in the first inning. During Stewart's next at-bat, Martin sailed two pitches above the slugger's head - the second one hitting him - which caused both benches to briefly clear and led to Martin's ejection.
White Sox pitcher Davis Martin is ejected after consecutive pitches end up near Sal Stewart's head pic.twitter.com/ROVRRCfrjk
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"Just lost grip of the ball," the right-hander said after Chicago's 9-8 loss, according to Brooke Fletcher of Chicago Sports Network. "The first one went over his head. Made eye contact, said my bad and I had no intention of doing that. And then second one, we were trying to just drive the fastball down and away to kind of reset, which is a good reset for me, and then just lost it again.
"There's no intention there. Guys just came back, picked me up after the first inning. We're up 4-3, and that's obviously the last thing that I'm trying to do is trying to start something there."
Martin added that he was also dealing with a blister that may have contributed to his control issues, according to Scott Merkin of MLB.com.
But Reds manager Terry Francona wasn't buying any of Martin's explanations.
"I thought that was extremely blatant, and you can't throw two balls like that head-high," Francona said, according to Zach Sweet of MLB.com. "You can kill somebody. I thought that was terrible."
The umpires ejected Martin without issuing a warning beforehand because they judged the pitches to be intentional. Home plate umpire Alan Porter told pool reporter James Fegan of The Athletic that his crew "needed to do what we needed to do to keep the game safe, basically."
"Intentionally throwing at a batter is grounds for immediate ejection," Porter added.
Martin did struggle with his command Thursday, hitting two batters (including Stewart) while allowing four runs (three earned) in two-plus innings. Unlike his manager, Stewart was willing to cut the pitcher some slack once the emotions had died down.
"I know he apologized after the first one, and you know, things happen. Maybe it slipped," Stewart told reporters. "But then the very next pitch just came right back at my face, so more than anything it was just kind of (a) scary moment."
The shortened start continued a troubling trend for Martin, who began the season strong but now owns a 8.03 ERA and 1.50 WHIP in six second-half starts.
