Phillies bench coach Larry Bowa, angry that Mets reliever Hansel Robles quick-pitched Darin Ruf while Ruf wasn't looking, was ejected for arguing the move Tuesday night.
Robles' pitch upset others in the Phillies' dugout, in particular outfielder Jeff Francoeur, who stepped on the field. Home plate umpire Dan Bellino tried to calm down Francoeur, but the damage was done. The benches emptied.
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After Bowa was tossed, the real chaos ensued.
In a classic Bowa tirade, the coach took his rounds cussing at the Mets' coaches and first baseman Daniel Murphy, who may have upset Bowa with his bat flip and staredown after hitting a homer on Monday night. Bowa appeared to be warning Murphy that he would get a fastball in the ribs in retaliation.
Robles told reporters he thought Bellino had signaled to him to pitch.
Hansel Robles put it simply: The batter was in the box, the umpire pointed at him to pitch, so he pitched.
— Jared Diamond (@jareddiamond) August 26, 2015Mets catcher Travis d'Arnaud, on the other hand, said he tried to stop Robles after seeing that Ruf was unaware.
Travis d'Arnaud said he was telling Robles to wait because Ruf's head was down and it's potentially dangerous.
— Adam Rubin (@AdamRubinESPN) August 26, 2015Bowa also knew it was dangerous, and he said so.