Toronto Blue Jays manager John Schneider, outfielder George Springer, ejected from Thursday game against Cleveland Guardians

Both Toronto Blue Jays manager John Schneider and outfielder George Springer were ejected from a Thursday afternoon game against the Cleveland Guardians.

The incident happened in the top of the seventh inning with Springer at the plate. With a full count against Guardians reliever Tyler Stephan, the pair were engaged in a battle.

Springer fouled off both the fifth and six pitches of the at-bat, and Stephan’s seventh pitch — a 96.1 MPH four-seam fastball — came in under the strike zone, narrowly knicking its bottom line.

Springer took the pitch, which was called a strike ending his at-bat, and was clearly displeased with the call. Seconds later, he stepped away from the plate and had words for umpire Jeremie Rehak.

Springer appeared to tell Rehak that he felt the ball was below the zone, and turned his back and walked towards the dugout. Then, Rehak threw Springer out of the game. Schneider raced out of the dugout to defend his slugger, and was ejected shortly thereafter.

The call came in a key moment in the game, too as the Jays were down 4-3 with runners on first and second with one out. After the ejections, Matt Chapman singled on a ground ball to load the bases, but Alejandro Kirk — replacing an injured Danny Jansen who was hit by a pitch earlier — popped out, then Davis Schneider struck out to end the inning.

Zach Laing is the Nation Network’s news director and senior columnist. He can be followed on Twitter at @zjlaing, or reached by email at zach@oilersnation.com.