Manny Machado is 1st Pitch Clock Ejection of 2023 - Wasn’t Ready on Time & Called Out by Ron Kulpa

HP Umpire Ron Kulpa ejected Padres DH Manny Machado for arguing a pitch clock violation call and automatic strike, resulting in a strikeout to end the 1st inning of the Diamondbacks-Padres game. Report: Facebook: Twitter: Discord: Kulpa ruled that Machado wasn’t ready in the batter’s box and alert to the pitcher prior to the eight-second mark prior to Arizona pitcher Zac Gallen’s 3-2 pitch. By rule, a batter who fails to be ready and alert by the eight-second mark of the pitch timer incurs the penalty of an automatic strike. In Machado’s case, the added strike was a third strike, for an inning-ending strikeout in San Diego. Replays indicate Machado tried requesting “Time“ from Kulpa, but that Machado’s time out request visually appeared to occur after the pitch clock displayed eight seconds. The request would have to come before the eight-second mark in order for it to be valid. Batters are entitled to one time out request per at-bat. This is the first ejection of the 2023 baseball season.