Nationals manager Dave Martinez ejected, drops to the dirt while arguing with umpire in loss to Diamondbacks

Washington Nationals manager Dave Martinez sure made the most of his ejection Thursday afternoon.

Martinez started chirping at home plate umpire Doug Eddings in the fifth inning of their 5-3 loss to the Arizona Diamondbacks on Thursday. Martinez thought a pitch thrown by Nationals starter Jake Irvin should have been called a strike, something that was apparently a lingering issue for him throughout the game, even though the ball was clearly thrown well below the strike zone.

But, thanks to a hot mic and a very light crowd at Nationals Park, fans at home heard almost the entire conversation between Martinez and Eddings clearly.

Though their initial interaction was fairly tame, it was Martinez’s reaction after his ejection that really made it fun. At one point, Martinez got down in the dirt behind the plate while screaming at Eddings.

Just watch:

While the pitch in question was clearly a ball, no doubt about it, Martinez was mad because a nearly identical pitch in the previous inning was called a strike. The inconsistency is what set him off.

The ejection didn’t seem to help much. The Nationals were down 2-1 when he was tossed, and only managed a pair of runs late in the ninth inning. The Diamondbacks added three more in the seventh inning on a home run from Ketel Marte. The Diamondbacks have won three of their last four games and lead the NL West.

The Nationals hold just a 28-46 record, and have now lost 14 of their last 17 games. Martinez, 58, is in his sixth season with the Nationals, which marked his first manager job in Major League Baseball. He hasn’t had a winning season since 2019, when they won their first World Series.