The atmosphere turned heated at Target Field when the Minnesota Twins took on the Cincinnati Reds on Saturday. The Twins manager, Derek Shelton, left the field before the Reds capped off the game with a 5-4 win. His outburst resulted in the ejection, a punishment that seemed straightforward until the surprising details of the on-field exchange came to light.

In the seventh inning, first base umpire Hunter Wendelstedt made a controversial judgment against Twins’ hitter Elly de la Cruz. The mics captured Shelton’s immediate resentment, as well as his heated exchange with the ump. Before being tossed out, the manager even claimed that he did not make any direct remark at Wendelstedt’s decision from the dugout.

Posting the video of Shelton’s rant before his ejection, Jomboy Media wrote on X, “I WASN’T EVEN F—— TALKING TO YOU.” No need for any lip reading of this ejection of Twins manager Derek Shelton.”

In the top of the seventh, with the Twins leading 4-2, first base umpire Wendelstedt ruled that De La Cruz did not swing on Kody Funderburk’s 1-1 pitch. Shelton immediately disagreed with the controversial call, as the hitter appears to have swung on the pitch.

On the following pitch, De La Cruz hit an RBI single, as Rece Hinds scored, closing in on the Twins, and the scoreboard read 4-3. After this, home plate umpire Nic Lentz tossed Shelton out, which left the manager red-faced.

He shortly went into the field demanding an explanation.

 

“I did not say anything to you. I said, ‘Let’s f—ing go.’ God d—it, c’mon. I didn’t say anything to you,” Shelton reportedly told Lentz.

“I said nothing to you. I said nothing – I did not say that. I did not say that. No. No. No, I didn’t. I did not say anything to you. All I said was, ‘Let’s f—ing go.’ No, that’s bull—. You did not. God d—it. C’mon.”

As Lentz walked away, Shelton exclaimed to third base umpire Vic Carapazza, “Let’s go,” while repeating, “I didn’t f—ing say anything. I said, ‘Let’s f—ing go.’”

Saturday’s ejection was the second time Shelton got tossed out of a game this season, and the 18th time overall as a manager.

His first ejection came on March 29, when he argued about the time Baltimore Orioles’ closer Ryan Helsley challenged a strike zone call in the ninth inning.

The Twins’ manager also explained his case, indicating that his remarks at the dugout were not aimed at the umpires.

What did Derek Shelton say about his ejection?

According to the Minnesota Twins Star Tribune, Shelton repeatedly stated that he was not looking at the umpires when he voiced his disagreement with the call. The ejection came as a surprise to the Twins’ dugout, as Shelton’s comments appeared directed at his own bench.

“I had my head down when I made the comment I made,” Shelton explained, per the media outlet.

“He evidently thought I was making the comment at him, but I had my head down, and I was not looking at any umpire after I made it.”

“You guys can make the determination on the check swing what you think, but when I made the comment I made, I had my head down,” he reiterated.

“I’ve been ejected a lot of times. In that one, I was not directing anything at anything except frustration down at our bench.”

Following Shelton’s ejection, the Reds chipped away at the Twins’ lead in the final two innings. They leveled the score at the top of the eighth during a sacrifice double play that allowed Eugenio Suarez to score.

During the ninth, Wil Myers hit a single off Cole Sands’ 93mph sinker, which let Spencer Steer score with the Reds cementing the game, as well as the series, in their favor at 5-4.

The Reds will again face the Twins on Sunday for the series finale.

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