Torey Lovullo ejected after Royals take vengeance on Bobby Witt Jr. HBP

Arizona Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo bafflingly got excessively heated after the Kansas City Royals retaliated for All-Star infielder Bobby Witt Jr. getting plunked.
Arizona Diamondbacks v Kansas City Royals
Arizona Diamondbacks v Kansas City Royals / Ed Zurga/GettyImages
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Arizona Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo got ejected in the top of the seventh inning of Monday's contest against the Kansas City Royals.

Royals reliever John Schreiber drilled Diamondbacks catcher Gabriel Moreno in the back with a 92-mile-per-hour sinker, though it wasn't your ordinary hit-by-pitch. It happened a frame after Arizona struck Kansas City All-Star infielder Bobby Witt Jr., only a single shy of hitting for the cycle.

Regardless, Moreno getting plunked prompted a reaction from Lovullo that led to his eventual disqualification from the blowout ballgame.

Home plate umpire Jordan Baker and the officiating crew tried de-escalating the issue by warning both dugouts. But as you can see, Lovullo relentlessly continued to plead his case after the fact.

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Torey Lovullo ejected after Royals take vengeance on Bobby Witt Jr. HBP

Royals skipper Matt Quatraro came onto the field to remove catcher Salvador Perez from the altercation. The latter was arguably as enraged as anyone in Kauffman Stadium when Witt was a hit batsman.

Perez still had a bone to pick with the Diamondbacks and saw an opportunity to jaw at Lovullo up close and personal. Nonetheless, that was short-lived after Quatraro trotted onto the diamond to ensure tensions didn't flare beyond the shouting match.

As the Kansas City broadcast duo of Ryan Lefebvre and Rex Hudler allude to, it's a mystery why Lovullo was so animated. Not only were the Royals retaliating for what the D-Backs did to Witt, but Arizona was down seven runs. What was the point of getting so worked up under these circumstances?

Perhaps Lovullo wanted to hit the shower early. Otherwise, his point of view is baffling.

Despite everything, Witt had another chance to complete the cycle in the bottom of the eighth. Alas, he popped out to right field, marking his fourth and final at-bat.

Witt finished the day going 3-for-4 from the plate with a home run, three RBIs and three runs. His four-bagger was a 431-foot three-run missile in the bottom of the fourth inning.

Ultimately, the Royals defeated Lovullo and the Diamondbacks 10-4 to improve their record to 56-45. They trail the Cleveland Guardians by four games for the AL Central lead and hold the second of three Wild Card spots in the league.

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