Chicago Cubs infielder Nico Hoerner was rung up on strikes by Detroit Tigers pitcher Jack Flaherty during the fifth inning of Sunday's game, and after expressing his dissatisfaction with the call from home plate umpire Derek Thomas, he was promptly ejected from the game.

Shortly thereafter, Cubs manager Craig Counsell got face to face with Thomas and was dealt a similar fate to that of Hoerner: an early trip to the locker room.

After the game, Hoerner spoke to reporters and addressed his frustration over the call and his ejection, laying out to the media exactly what he told Thomas after the called third strike.

"I don't think it's really that often you can verbatim say to the press afterwards what got you thrown out. I said, 'You're having a really bad day,'" Hoerner told reporters, via Marquee Sports Network.

The 28-year-old suggested he didn't make any obscene comments or anything of that nature after being called out on strikes. Hoerner claims to have given Thomas an honest assessment of his performance behind the plate, and in turn was tossed from the game.

Hoerner went 0-for-2 with a fly out and a strikeout prior to his ejection. He was replaced at second base by Vidal Brujan, and Chicago would go on to lose, 4–0.


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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Cubs' Nico Hoerner Tells Reporters Exactly What He Said to Umpire That Ejected Him.

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