ST. LOUIS (AP) — St. Louis Cardinals manager Tony La Russa says getting ejected near the end of a comeback victory was definitely not a strategic move.
Arizona pitcher Dan Haren, who came up in the Cardinals organization, accused his former manager of gamesmanship after La Russa got tossed for arguing balls and strikes in the ninth inning of a 6-5 victory Monday night.
Haren wasn’t angry about it, but said he’d seen La Russa use the tactic before to ice the opposing pitcher. The Cardinals scored three times in the ninth.
La Russa said Tuesday that he would never use umpires as a tool to throw off an opposing pitcher, and had a member of Arizona’s media relations staff relay that message to Haren.
It was La Russa’s first ejection this season.
