Duffey was ejected from the game after throwing a pitch behind Yermín Mercedes legs in the seventh inning.
Twins relief pitcher Tyler Duffey was ejected from Tuesday's game against the White Sox after he threw a pitch behind Yermín Mercedes's legs.
In the seventh inning, with the White Sox up 4-2, Duffey threw the pitch behind Mercedes and he was subsequently tossed along with Twins manager Rocco Baldelli, who argued with umpire Jim Reynolds. Bill Evers stepped in to serve as the acting manager for the remainder of the game after Baldelli's exit.
Before Duffey's ejection, he did not have any prior pitching issues in the game.
White Sox manager Tony La Russa said Duffey's pitch at Mercedes's legs "wasn't obvious" to him.
"The guy threw a sinker," La Russa said. "It didn’t look good. So I wasn’t that suspicious. I’m suspicious if somebody throws at somebody’s head. I don’t have a problem with how the Twins handled that.
"What did they do? The guy might have just been trying to get a sinker in. We don’t read minds. I’m not going to read their mind, and I’m not going to second guess the umpire when it’s his judgment. The ball was thrown at somebody’s head, and then you don’t give anybody the benefit of the doubt."
On Monday, Mercedes blasted a home run on a 3-0 pitch despite the White Sox's sizable lead over the Twins—breaking one of MLB's unwritten rules.
Russa blasted Mercedes's decision to make a play on the ball, saying Mercedes made a "mistake" and that he needs to "respect the game and the opponents."
“There’s one thing acknowledging it, and that’s appreciated, but it doesn’t quell all of the emotions from all the guys in the clubhouse, in and of itself," Baldelli said.
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