Martin: Ump 'kind of created the drama' with double ejection

Russell Martin wants to clear the air surrounding Thursday's commotion in the fifth inning against the Oakland Athletics.

After disagreeing with a few of umpire Will Little's calls behind the plate, Toronto Blue Jays manager John Gibbons received his marching orders early when he was tossed from the contest for arguing balls and strikes. He wouldn't be alone for long, as starter Marcus Stroman and his batterymate Martin lasted just one more at-bat before they too were ejected for disagreeing with Little's strike zone.

Martin seemed to be given the hook before he could utter a word in Stroman's defense, which resulted in the hurler having to be restrained by teammates and coaches.

And when asked about the scuffle after the game, Martin put the onus on Little.

"So, I turned around and I'm like, 'You know, you didn't have to throw him out right there.' Probably threw an F-bomb in there. Just one. Not multiple," Martin told Sportsnet's Arden Zwelling. "But like, he took his mask off and he looked like he was ready to do something. And any time an umpire steps toward you and takes his mask off, it's never a good sign.

"It's kind of like he was asking for, I don't know, it's like he was instigating almost. I didn't feel like at that moment it was the proper call. I didn't feel like it was necessary. There was no drama at that moment. He kind of created the drama there. It's definitely frustrating when the umpires get in the way."

Stroman finished the night with a career-high six walks in 4 2/3 innings pitched, though the ejections seemed to fire up the Blue Jays. The club went on to walk-off the Athletics for the second consecutive game thanks to Steve Pearce's 10th-inning grand slam.