Oli Marmol didn’t hide his frustration after Friday night’s game, and by the time the Cardinals manager sat down for his postgame interview, he was ready to unload on home plate umpire Doug Eddings.
The flashpoint came in the sixth inning, when Eddings objected to the way Cardinals reliever and rookie Hancel Rincon was wearing his hat. Marmol stepped in to back up his pitcher and got tossed for it.
Eddings also issued a pitch clock violation to Rincon’s replacement, Justin Bruihl, while Marmol was still out there. Marmol even adjusted his own hat as he walked out of the dugout, clearly making a point of his own.
It was Marmol’s fourth ejection of the season and the 25th of his career, but this one clearly stuck with him. Cardinals broadcasters Chip Caray and Brad Thompson were angry too, and Caray pressed Marmol after the game about what happened in that sixth inning.
“Some words (were) exchanged there. Quite honestly, I thought it was pretty embarrassing on (Eddings's) end,” said Marmol bluntly to kick off the interview. “ We have a kid making his debut, and in between an at bat he tells him he needs to fix his hat and 'the kid's not going to wear his hat like that on my field.'
“Last I checked this is Coors Field, so I took issue with it,” said Oli.
Marmol wasn’t done there. He also blasted the pitch clock call that came while he was arguing with Eddings.
“And then the pitch violation while I'm out there having a discussion, that's also stupid in my opinion, so there's a lot of moving parts to that one,” said Oli in frustration. “At the end of the day, I thought they handled it poorly, and I'd like an explanation at some point.”
The umpiring didn’t improve later. In the seventh inning, Eddings missed a play at the plate when Bruihl flipped the ball home and appeared to easily get Troy Johnston, but Johnston was ruled safe. Because the Cardinals had already used all their challenges, the call stood.
Despite all of that, St. Louis still found a way to win. Ivan Herrera launched a go-ahead three-run home run in the top of the ninth to put the Cardinals ahead 7-6, even after the team had gotten into Colorado at 5:00 A.M. earlier in the day.
Chip Caray’s call after Riley O'Brien’s final pitch summed up the night in one line: “(The Cardinals) were Doug a hole, but it's a happy Eddings.”
The Cardinals have two more games left against the Rockies, with Eddings still on the field somewhere. His pre-game handshake with Marmol figures to draw some attention.
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