If any player from the Dodgers camp caught the most attention in the last few weeks, it ought to be their catcher, Dalton Rushing. From calling the Rockies’ win over the Dodgers fishy to his heated exchanges with the Giants’ Jung Hoo Lee, Rushing has had a busy few weeks. That trend continued against the Marlins, though this time the drama took a different form.
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During the second game of the series against Miami on April 28, Rushing was handed an automatic strike three. He left the field visibly frustrated, but the fans were quick to remind him of the recent events and gave a brutal reality check.
“Dalton Rushing was called out on an automatic strike three because the umpire said he was never granted a timeout, even though Rushing was certain he was,” Jomboy Media shared via X.
The drama unfolded in the fifth inning. With the pitch clock ticking down, Rushing raised his hands and asked for a timeout. This is where it got interesting. Cameras caught Rushing making eye contact with the home plate umpire, Clint Vondrak. Vondrak appeared to nod, which Rushing took as confirmation that his timeout was granted.
However, the pitch clock kept ticking. As soon as it hit zero, Vondrak called a time violation, and that led to an automatic strike three.
This left the Dodger catcher dumbfounded. He tried to convince the umpire that he had asked for a timeout, which the latter missed or did not acknowledge.
For the unversed, in MLB, a batter is out via timeout primarily by violating the pitch timer rules. A batter is called out if they are not in the box, alert to the pitcher, with at least eight seconds remaining on the pitch clock. So, just as Rushing was not ready for the pitcher despite the pitch clock, he was penalized.
The 25-year-old slugger remained hitless in the fifth. But his frustrated expressions continued even in the dugout. The Dodgers manager, Dave Roberts, had also entered the field to defend his player.
Dalton Rushing was called out on an automatic strike three because the umpire said he was never granted time out, even though Rushing was certain he was
The umpire’s decision proved more bitter because of how Rushing was given out despite his timeout call, at least as per Roberts.
“Dalton called a timeout, and I just saw the replay. He called a timeout, and he said it twice, and I just think the umpire didn’t hear it clearly,” Roberts said. Imagine you ask for a timeout only to get an automatic strike. Pitch clock violations cannot be reviewed or challenged. Rushing had no choice but to walk back to the dugout.
“Eye contact, saw his hands go up, Time Out, please.” Commentators were also left surprised by how Rushing’s call was missed. Bitter indeed! The Dodgers eventually lost the game by 2-1, with Rushing scoring 1 run from his 4 at-bats.
Rushing is going hot this year, hitting .349 and already belting 7 homers. Owing to his hot stint in the batter’s box, the Dodgers gave him the DH role in the second game as Shohei Ohtani started the game. However, the game didn’t go as expected. Still, the fans can’t help but recall Rushing’s recent events on the field.
Rushing reportedly foul-mouthed the Cubs’ Miguel Amaya over the weekend, which tempted Nico Hoerner to fight it out. “I wish that I had confronted him a little more directly,” Hoerner said.
Because of this recent behavior, social media was flooded with fans celebrating the bitter decision against Ruhsing.
The Dodgers fans react to Dalton Rushing’s timeout
A few fans wonder whether Rushing asked for a timeout before. “W– is going on here. I might have to side with the batter here,” one fan said. The footage showed Rushing repeatedly asking the umpire about his timeout call. A quick reply could have helped at the moment. While batters could ask for a timeout with a hand signal or verbally, we are not sure what Rushing had done here.
Still, the footage clearly showed that Rushing was not ready to face the pitcher when the umpire called a strikeout. Could a batter waste such time without a timeout? It makes one wonder. “I hate this dude, but he clearly wasn’t in the wrong here,” another added.
However, for a few other fans, Rushing is the one to blame. “Karma,” one user remarked. “Consider it karma for being such a Douche,” another added.
It seems like Dalton Rushing has drawn significant fan hate in the last few weeks. The fans are referring to his exchanges with Jung Hoo Lee. In the first game against the Giants, Lee tried to cover home plate on a single in the sixth inning. But he was tagged out by Rushing. However, while Lee appeared to injure himself, Rushing reportedly cursed him.
As per the fans, Rushing getting an automatic strikeout is nothing but karma. After he dominated in the recent duels, this time, he is at the receiving end. “Everybody hates Rushing at this point. He became an intolerable D-Bag in the course of a week,” another fan agreed.
So, whether Dalton Rushing was right or wrong in the game against the Marlins took a backseat here. For the majority of the fans, it’s a brutal reality check for the Dodgers catcher.
