Arizona Diamondbacks starting pitcher Madison Bumgarner was ejected from the game against the Miami Marlins on Thursday after the first inning and came close to attacking the umpire. Bumgarner gave up a leadoff home run before recording three outs to end the half-inning. The 32-year-old pitcher then exchanged words with the umpire who was checking his hands for “sticky stuff.” That led to the umpire, Dan Bellino throwing him out, and Bumgarner had to be restrained as he was arguing with him.
The good news for the Diamondbacks won the game 8-7 and swept the series against the Marlins. After the game, Bumgarner talked about being thrown out. “I know why I got thrown out, yes,” he said, per Bally Sports Arizona. “I don’t know if I can say anything that would make the situation better, so what I’m gonna say is I’m extremely proud of our team coming back and winning today because I put us in a big hole there. Obviously, you didn’t go into the game with the intention of throwing one inning, so for them to be able to fight and everyone picked me up today, for that to happen that’s pretty incredible. Very proud.”
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Bumgarner is in his third season with the Diamondbacks after spending 11 seasons with the San Francisco Giants. So far this season, Bumgarner has a 1-1 record with a 1.17 ERA. In December 2019, the Diamondbacks signed Bumgarner to a five-year, $85 million contract. He posted a 1-4 record in the shortened 2020 season and followed that up with a 7-10 record in 2021.
Bumgarner made his MLB debut, in 2009 and became one of the best pitchers in the 2010s. He was selected to the All-Star game for four consecutive seasons (2013-2016) was named NCLS MVP in 2014 and helped the Giants win three World Series while being named World Series MVP in 2014. Bumgarner holds the record for career World Series ERA (0.25) and he has also hit two grand slams in a single season.
When asked why he wanted to join the Diamondbacks, Bumgarner said: “I like the way they go about it here — it’s more my style of baseball than a lot of places — and I also enjoy being on an underdog-type team, more so than the team that’s supposed to win.”
