Reds top prospect ejected after umpire sparks ugly minor league chaos

Baseball fans never want to see their favorite team's top prospect involved in a benches-clearing incident, but in this instance, Cincinnati Reds fans are likely to make an exception. Reds' top prospect and Dayton Dragons catcher Alfredo Duno was ejected during the ninth inning of a game on Friday night after an umpire's missed call sparked late-game chaos on the field.

The mayhem began with a hit-by-pitch that wasn't called. Dragons' outfielder Esmith Pineda was plunked by Donovan Zsak of the Lake County Captains. The pitch obviously struck Pineda in the left arm and ricocheted off his elbow protector.

Unfortunately for the Dragons, home plate umpire Eli Cox didn't see it. He wrongly believed the ball bounced off Pineda's bat and ruled it a foul ball. Dragons' manager Julio Morillo was incensed and took his argument right to the source. Morillo plead his case to the umpire, but Cox would have none of it and promptly ejected Dayton's skipper.

Reds prospect Alfredo Duno ejected amid on-field chaos in Dayton

Somewhere along the way, Duno was ejected as well. Interestingly enough, the Reds' top prospect never left the dugout, as evidenced by what happened next. The at-bat continued, and Zsak was able to strike out Pineda. The Captains' hurler was quite proud of himself, and after the punch out took several steps toward the batters' box in celebratory fashion, staring directly into Dayton's dugout.

The Dragons did not take kindly to that and the benches emptied — this included an enraged Duno, who had to be physically restrained by a member of the Dayton coaching staff. Zsak was tossed for his role in the benches-clearing fracas and replaced by pitcher Luis Flores. But it didn't end there.

Flores proceeded to plunk the next batter — Dragons' third baseman Johnny Ascanio — and after a brief conference between the two umpires, the Lake County reliever was ejected as well. In all, three players and the Dragons' manager were ejected from the game and Dayton lost by a final score of 6-4.

The umpires better be on high alert heading into Saturday's game at DayAir Ballpark. It wouldn't be surprising to see some sort of retaliation on the part of the Dragons, though Reds fans are certainly hopeful that Duno is far away from any type of altercation. The Reds' prospect is 6-foot-2 and 210 pounds, so the opposition is probably hoping he keeps his distance as well.

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