The Cubs lost their starting catcher for this one, as Willson Contreras disagreed with a check swing call and then got the boot.
The ejection was kinda absurd:
Willson Contreras was just ejected for the #Cubs. Borderline check swing, David Ross wanted the home plate ump to check with the guy at first.
Ross could be heard on TV at the end of his argument: “I know you know baseball, but that’s trash.” pic.twitter.com/M0xBT8q7dp
— Billy Heyen (@BillyHeyen) August 12, 2020
This is a terrible ejection. Willson did not argue. Was a bat slam really a good excuse to eject him? NO. pic.twitter.com/uYM3TgvsTl
— Cubs Zone ™️ (@CubsZone) August 12, 2020
That is just an absurd toss. First, you make the mistake of calling that check swing from behind the plate – it was clearly close enough to warrant an appeal to first – and then you compound the mistake by chucking a guy? Yes, Contreras said some words and slammed his bat, but he was also walking away. It was over. No need to do that.
David Ross was not pleased:
Not Astros, but David Ross arguing with the ump in a dead quiet ballpark is awesome:
"I know you know baseball, I know you know baseball. But that's *crap*. Come on." pic.twitter.com/Tws0dn0Os4
— 2020 Astros Shame Tour (@AsteriskTour) August 13, 2020
The Cubs initially looked like they were going to use Josh Phegley to replace Contreras, since Victor Caratini was DH’ing, but then Phegley was unable to go for some reason (is he hurt?). So with Caratini taking over catching duties, the Cubs have lost the DH for the rest of this one.