This week’s series between the Rays and Pirates in St. Petersburg, Fla., has pitted baseball’s best team in 2023 against its biggest surprise.
So far, Tampa Bay has had the upper hand—a fact reflected in Pittsburgh manager Derek Shelton’s dramatic meltdown during the second game of the series Wednesday evening.
As Rays pitcher Shane McClanahan entered his windup in the bottom of the fourth inning with his team up 3-1, Shelton stormed out the dugout and began arguing with third base umpire and crew chief Adrian Johnson. His torrent of f-bombs was clearly audible through the on-field mics on Tampa Bay’s Bally Sports Sun broadcast.
Pirates manager Derek Shelton decided the middle of Shane McClanahan's windup was the perfect time for his tirade 🙄 pic.twitter.com/HNSHHXrLkU
— Bally Sports Sun: Rays (@BallyRays) May 3, 2023
The Rays’ announcers speculated that Shelton wanted McClanahan called for a pitch-clock violation. Johnson went on to eject Shelton, and Pittsburgh was unable to score in the inning.
Shelton expressed anger at Johnson and his crew the previous night as well, during a game Tampa Bay won 4-1.
