Chicago White Sox starter Lance Lynn was intending on returning for the fifth inning Wednesday against the Oakland Athletics.
But a belt toss led to an early exit.
Third-base umpire Nic Lentz ejected Lynn before the bottom of the fourth in the Sox’s 3-2 victory against the A’s in front of 22,780 at Guaranteed Rate Field.
It turned to be one of the more unusual ejections in some time.
“I was coming off the mound and he was late getting over (near the dugout for an inspection), so I left my glove and my hat (at the top of the dugout),” Lynn said. “And then while I was going down the dugout to try (to) see the trainer because I’m dealing with something, he yells at me that he needs to see my belt.
“So I tossed it up and he throws me out.”
Crew chief Ron Kulpa confirmed the ejection was for tossing the belt.
“(Lynn) got to the dugout in a hurry,” Sox manager Tony La Russa said. “So he put his glove and his hat (on the ledge), and they obviously wanted the belt. So he took it off and then threw it. You can’t do that. It’s that simple.
“My only point when I was out there (talking to the umpires) was if you’re not emotional in this game, you’re not very good. And he was emotional.”
The ejection happened immediately.
“He threw me out because I tossed my belt,” Lynn said. “I said, ‘Well if you were over there on time, we wouldn’t have this problem. I’m already in the dugout.’
“He’s late getting over there. I’m trying to get some work done to go back out for the fifth, and obviously I hurt his feelings.”
It was Lynn’s first career ejection.
“He threw the belt,” La Russa said. “As soon as he threw the belt, you can’t make a gesture like that. That’s when he was gone. The umpire banged him right away. I went out there to try to save it, but that’s what got him ejected, throwing the belt.
“You can’t throw your equipment. And so he threw it, and that’s an automatic ejection.”
Lynn allowed one run on three hits with four strikeouts and three walks in four innings. He threw 88 pitches.
“I felt completely miserable, but when you get out of that and only give up one run and we win, that’s what it’s all about,” Lynn said. “I wish I could have gone deeper, but I didn’t get that opportunity. It was taken from me. I’m going to get myself ready for the next one.”
Lynn worked his way out of a couple of major jams.
The A’s had runners on second and third with no outs in the first. Lynn struck out two and got a groundout to end the threat.
That was just the warm-up for the third, when the A’s loaded the bases with no outs. Lynn struck out two and got a popout to escape without allowing a run.
“I wrote on my card, I think I wrote, ‘amazing, amazing escapes,’ ” La Russa said. “He is just never going to quit competing. Never. No matter what the odds are, no matter what the situation is. He just competes, competes — and he’s got a lot to compete with. Those were really quality hitters.
“The Oakland A’s, half the guys up there can break open those innings. He just made great pitches and he made them late in the count, too, which is even more impressive.”
Sox center fielder Luis Robert also made an impression, going 3-for-4 with two RBIs. His RBI single in the fourth gave the Sox a 2-1 lead. His RBI single in the sixth made it 3-1.
“My mindset is always to make good contact with the ball,” Robert said through an interpreter.
Garrett Crochet, Ryan Tepera, Aaron Bummer and Liam Hendriks pitched well in relief as the Sox won their third straight. Craig Kimbrel’s grandfather died, La Russa said, and the reliever left Wednesday morning. He’s expected to return Thursday.
Hendriks pitched 1? innings, fanning the A’s 2-3-4 hitters in the ninth, for his 28th save.
“You look at Garrett, what (Tepera) did was outstanding and (Bummer), he got the big outs of the (seventh) inning,” La Russa said. “That’s a tougher save if you’ve got to get out of the eighth and you’ve got the top of that lineup for Liam in the ninth. That’s the toughest save he’s had all year.”
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