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When Torey Lovullo twice cursed at Yadier Molina and the St. Louis Cardinals catcher made contact with two umpires in an effort to confront the Arizona Diamondbacks manager Sunday, only Lovullo was ejected, the umpiring crew feeling his baiting of Molina was more egregious than the response.
Major League Baseball disagreed.
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MLB on Tuesday suspended Lovullo and Molina one game each for their actions in Sunday’s game.
Lovullo will serve his suspension tonight when the Diamondbacks play at San Francisco. Molina, MLB announced, will appeal his suspension.
Lovullo, 52, said Monday that he “was disappointed in myself” for the incident, during which he told home plate umpire Tim Timmons that Molina shouldn’t be allowed to “make balls into strikes.”
He also twice called Molina, an eight-time Gold Glove catcher, a “m-----------.”
Molina told reporters after Sunday’s game: “If you're going to call ‘m----------- to a guy, you’ve got to be ready to fight.”
Asked if he’d reach out to Molina, Lovullo told the Arizona Republic that he’d “just want the dust to settle and think through with a really clear lens and come up with a game plan.”
Lovullo now has a few free hours Tuesday night to concoct that game plan.
