LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – JULY 04: Eugenio Suárez #28 of the Arizona Diamondbacks reacts after striking out against the Los Angeles Dodgers during the fourth inning at Dodger Stadium on July 04, 2024 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Michael Owens/Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES — Arizona third baseman Eugenio Suarez received his first ejection as a member of the Diamondbacks Thursday in Thursday’s 9-3 win at the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Suarez had argued balls and strikes with home plate umpire Stu Scheurwater after going down looking twice. Suarez received the hook going into the bottom of the eighth inning after he came back out on defense.
D-backs manager Torey Lovullo had words for the umpiring crew, while bench coach Jeff Banister put himself between Suarez and the umpires and escorted his player back to the dugout. Lovullo did not receive an ejection..
I asked Geno, ‘Did you say anything? He didn’t,” Lovullo said. “It was maybe a gesture that was between the umpire and Geno, and that happens in this game. But Geno is intense. He’s a fiery competitor, and whether he was fairly ejected or not, it’s not my decision. I don’t know what happened, but I’m going to support the player.”
Kevin Newman grabbed his glove and ran out to third base as a defensive replacement. He is the backup third baseman with Blaze Alexander having been optioned to Triple-A Reno on Tuesday.
Lovullo said shortstop Geraldo Perdomo started to make his way toward the action, but first baseman Christian Walker cut him off. Lovullo credited Walker with keeping Perdomo in the game.
“Because if Gerry had taken a few more steps, he would have gotten a little closer and the umpire would probably have heard what he was saying,” Lovullo said. “It was an intense moment, and we feel like Geno was mistreated and we were going to protect him.”
Had Perdomo been ejected, the D-backs would have been in an awkward spot with the infield.
Suarez had not been ejected from a game since 2021 when he was a member of the Cincinnati Reds. Thursday marked his fifth career ejection, and he finished the game 0-for-4 with two strikeouts.
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