The Tampa Bay Rays were shut out by the Houston Astros on Sunday, losing 1-0 to lose the series. When Josh Hader came on for the save, Tampa’s chances of staging a road comeback were pretty slim. Taylor Walls came up second in the inning for the Rays and was ejected after the first pitch. What happened to force the ejection?
Walls took the first pitch for a strike, despite thinking it was low and outside. The Rays outfielder called his timeout and stepped out of the box while expressing his displeasure with the umpire. All of that was within the rules, it was what happened next that forced the ejection. As Walls stepped into the box, he tapped his helmet, the ABS symbol for challenging a pitch. That got him tossed and set him off.
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Walls promptly lost his mind and got his money’s worth for the ejection. The Rays sent Christopher Morel to the plate to finish Walls’ at-bat, and he struck out. Junior Caminero finished the game with a strikeout, ending a two-hit shutout for the Astros.
One day soon, what Walls did would trigger a review of the previous pitch. Based on the television broadcast’s K-Zone, it is possible that the review would have gone Walls’ way. But for this season, that is going to prompt an ejection nearly every time. If you make it known that you disagree with the call and then call for a faux-review, umpires are not going to like that.
The Rays lost the series despite holding the Astros to just six runs. They lost Game 1 2-1 and Game 3 1-0. Their Game 2 victory was a 16-3 blowout. Walls may have been right, but until the ABS process is implemented, it does not matter. ABS was used in spring training and has been in the minor leagues for years.
Christopher Hennessy is an MLB associate editor at ClutchPoints, with additional expertise in the NHL and golf. He graduated with a journalism degree from Fordham University in 2022, and he has work experience at Spectrum News One in Albany, New York and with The Hockey Writers as a New York Islanders reporter.
