Frustrated Giolito critical of umps: Things were 'taken away from us'
Chicago White Sox right-hander Lucas Giolito was not pleased with how the umpires called Friday night's 7-1 loss against the Milwaukee Brewers and wasn't shy with his criticism postgame.
"Frustrations got high with the way the game was being called against us. I got frustrated a couple times," Giolito said, according to Daryl Van Schouwen of the Chicago Sun-Times. "Sometimes it hits that breaking point. We put our heart and soul into it, and when we feel like things get taken away from us, it's not going to make us feel good."
With the White Sox trailing 3-0 in the bottom of the seventh, manager Tony La Russa was ejected while arguing with the umpires during a mound visit. It was his first ejection of the season.
Tony La Russa has been ejected pic.twitter.com/iJq0AVtyVy
— White Sox Talk (@NBCSWhiteSox) July 24, 2021
Brewers outfielder Tyrone Taylor then hit his first career grand slam to put the game out of reach during a six-run inning where White Sox pitchers issued four walks while surrendering only two hits. Altogether, the White Sox were charged with nine free passes (one intentional) on the night compared to eight hits allowed.
Shortstop Tim Anderson was ejected in the eighth inning as he yelled from the sidelines.
Despite the escalated frustrations, La Russa said postgame that the umpires can't be used as a scapegoat for failure.
"We play against the other team, we do not play against the umpires," La Russa said, according to James Fegan of The Athletic, adding, "There's no way that it's beneficial to get upset at umpires."
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