WASHINGTON (AP) -- Even without throwing a pitch, Tampa Bay’s Joel Peralta left his mark on the game.
The reliever was ejected in the Rays’ 5-4 victory Tuesday night when Washington manager Davey Johnson asked the umpires to check Peralta’s glove while the pitcher was warming up in the eighth inning.
The check found "a significant amount of pine tar," according to crew chief Tim Tschida. The umpires carried the glove off the field and tossed Peralta.
As the reliever walked off the field, he tipped his cap to the Nationals dugout.
"Good for them," Peralta said. "They still lose the game."
Tampa Bay manager Joe Maddon was clearly upset with the umpires on the field, and afterward he called Johnson "cowardly" for requesting the check of the reliever who pitched for the Nationals in 2010.
"Insider trading, man. It’s bush," Maddon said. "It’s bogus. That’s way too easy, right there."
Peralta did not directly answer when asked if he intentionally added pine tar to the glove.
"That’s a glove that I use for batting practice every day," he said. "I’m every day playing catch with it, it’s hot here -- that’s all I’m going to say about it."
Font Resize
