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Joe Maddon ejected and restrained by umpires while confronting opposing manager

ben weinrib
Yahoo Sports Contributor
Chicago Cubs manager Joe Maddon, center, yells toward the Pittsburgh Pirates dugout as he is restrained by umpire Joe West and Cubs' Kris Bryant (17) during the fourth inning of a baseball game in Pittsburgh, Thursday, July 4, 2019. Maddon was ejected from the game. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

Fans didn’t have to wait until after the Chicago Cubs-Pittsburgh Pirates game Thursday for Fourth of July fireworks. Cubs manager Joe Maddon supplied them by himself in the fourth inning.

Fired up after Pirates starter Jordan Lyles continued to throw up and in to Cubs hitters, Maddon was ejected by home plate umpire Joe West and eventually had to be restrained when he tried to confront Pirates skipper Clint Hurdle.

Maddon had been closely monitoring Lyles’ location, and that reached a breaking point when the righty faced Javier Báez. The Cubs shortstop tweaked his knee trying to get out of the way of one pitch high-and tight, and a 3-2 offering went back to the same location, bouncing off the end of Báez’s bat for a foul.

The 3-2 foul caused the ejection and the confrontation, although Maddon wasn’t upset that West didn’t eject a Pirate. He appeared to be more upset that the Pirates were threatening his players’ health, and that worry came true in the fifth when David Bote was hit by a pitch in the helmet.

“It was getting way too out of control, culminating in David getting hit in the head,” Maddon said. “I have no issues with pitching inside. I’m an advocate. But when you get that many pitches — not just that tonight, but it’s been like that somewhat during the entire series. They have their pitching philosophy, and I appreciate inside, but I don’t appreciate up and in... They just need to be careful.”

While Lyles was certainly working the inside of the plate, Báez and several other Cubs are well known for crowding the plate. This could also have been Maddon’s way of firing up his team during an extended losing streak.

Losers of seven of their last nine entering Thursday, the Cubs were hoping to avoid their first four-game sweep in Pittsburgh in 50 years. The Cubs led the NL Central as recently as Sunday but are now a half game out with just a three-game cushion over the fifth-place Cincinnati Reds.

Seemingly, the move worked with the Cubs scoring seven unanswered runs after the blow-up. And this won’t be the end of it, since the Pirates come to Wrigley Field a week from Friday.

Joe Maddon has the moves, social media has the jokes

Maddon was more bluster than bite while yelling at Hurdle, but one of his attempts to get around West and Kris Bryant caught the eye of social media. His spin move wasn’t very effective, but

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