April 25 (UPI) -- Outfielder Kyle Schwarber slammed his bat and helmet to the ground and screamed at umpire Angel Hernandez, resulting in a rapid ejection in the ninth inning of a Philadelphia Phillies loss to the Milwaukee Brewers.
Schwarber, who struck out in the at-bat, went 1 for 4 in the 1-0 setback Sunday at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia. He told reporters in his postgame media availability that the emotional outburst was in support of his teammates, who were on the wrong end of calls he disagreed with.
"I'm not here to bury anyone, but it wasn't very good," Schwarber said. "I don't know how to really say it. It just wasn't very good.
"Guys were doing a really good job [Sunday] of not saying much. It just got to me to where I was going to stick up for some other guys."
Brewers pitcher Eric Lauer and Phillies pitcher Aaron Nola kept batters quiet for the majority of the game. Lauer allowed five hits and totaled a career-high 13 strikeouts over six scoreless innings. Nola allowed just one hit and issued one walk -- with nine strikeouts -- over seven shutout innings.
The game remained scoreless to start the ninth. Phillies relief pitcher Corey Knebel allowed third baseman Jace Peterson to single to start the final frame. Left fielder Andrew McCutchen singled to center field two at-bats later to move Peterson to third base.
Brewers designated hitter Christian Yelich then plated Peterson with an RBI sacrifice fly for the game's lone run.
All-Star relief pitcher Josh Hader took the mound in the bottom half of the ninth. He forced Phillies catcher J.T. Realmuto to ground out in his first exchange. Schwarber then took over in the batter's box.
The veteran outfielder watched a slider drop into the outside corner for a strike to start the exchange. He then swung and missed on an outside sinker from Hader to fall behind 0-2 in the count.
Hader missed the strike zone with his next three pitches, which brought the count full. He then fired a 98 mph fastball toward the bottom outside corner. Schwarber watched the pitch, which appeared to miss the strike zone, and did a quick check swing. Hernandez ruled that the pitch found the zone and completed a strikeout.
Schwarber then slammed his equipment into the dirt and expressed more frustration with a verbal tirade aimed at the umpire. He also pointed at the plate repeatedly, making his case for the pitch should have been ruled a ball and resulted in a walk.
Phillies manager Joe Girardi followed Schwarber to the plate and also voiced his disagreement with the call. Schwarber walked back out of the dugout and talked to another official before he headed to the clubhouse.
Phillies third baseman Alec Bohm flew out to right field in the next at-bat. Hader picked up his eighth save of the season for his ninth-inning effort.
Phillies second baseman Jean Segura was the only player to reach base more than once in the game. He went 1 for 4 with a walk in the loss. The Brewers totaled just three hits in the win. Phillies hitters struck out 16 times, while the Brewers struck out 10 times.
The Umpire Auditor Twitter account tweeted that Hernandez was the "lowest-rated umpire on the day." The account reported that Hernandez missed 19 calls total and ruled outside-the-zone pitches for completed strikeouts six times.
The Phillies (6-10) host the Colorado Rockies (10-5) at 6:45 p.m. EDT Monday at Citizens Bank Park. The Brewers (10-6) host the San Francisco Giants (11-5) at 6:10 p.m. Monday at American Family Field in Milwaukee.
