John Farrell Tossed as Red Sox Fall Short in Atlanta

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The sum of a season filled with frustration, disappointment and underachievement, reached a boiling point for Boston Red Sox manager John Farrell Wednesday night in Atlanta. Boston’s skipper was ejected from the 4-2 defeat in the seventh inning after he rampaged out toward first base umpire Larry Vanover to argue a non-strike call. The loss marked the club’s eighth loss in their last nine games.

With the Red Sox already trailing in the seventh, Farrell was fit to be tied after watching his team make costly errors in the field on top of Vanover’s questionable calls. Earlier in the game, Vanover blew a call in which Mookie Betts clearly beat out an infield single. Farrell lost his mind when he saw reliever Tommy Layne induce a check swing from Pedro Ciriaco. Vanover did not call it a strike even though it appeared as if Ciriaco was unable to hold up on the check.

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Farrell lost his mind and was ejected after a great deal of yelling from the dugout. He then stormed out of the dugout, got in Vanover’s face, and expressed his displeasure. After some shouting and swearing, Farrell strolled away and into the clubhouse.

Emotional fireworks aside, Joe Kelly pitched a respectable game for the Red Sox. Kelly pitched five innings, allowing two runs on five hits, while striking out three. Mike Napoli snapped out of a brutal slump with a solo home run. They even held two leads in the contest, but were unable to secure the much-needed win.

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With the game tied 2-2 in the seventh, Napoli committed a crucial mistake after dropping a throw from Xander Bogeaerts. The blunder ultimately gave way to a two-run frame for the Braves. They would add an insurance run in the eighth to put the Red Sox away for good.

The Red Sox and Braves will wrap up their four-game, home-and-home series on Thursday.

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