Pirates’ Don Kelly Ejected Against Reds
In this story:
PITTSBURGH — Pittsburgh Pirates manager Don Kelly is normally a calm person, but there are times that he can't keep his emotions to himself.
Kelly got himself ejected in the bottom of the eighth inning of the Pirates 8-3 win over the Cincinnati Reds at Great American Ball Park on March 31, following his arguing with home plate umpire John Baker.
Pirates rookie left-handed pitcher Hunter Barco threw a four-seam fastball above the zone that Reds designated hitter Eugenio Suárez clearly went around on, but Baker didn't call it.
Suárez himself thought that he was out and started walking back to the Reds dugout, but then went back to the plate after realizing it was a ball.
Kelly didn't care for Baker's non-call and let him know about it from the Pirates' dugout and then Baker threw him out, which prompted Kelly to go right up to Baker and let him know how he really felt, telling him to focus on the game and not the dugout.
Don Kelly is ejected for the first time in 2026 after the 1st base umpire missed a check swing call where Eugenio Suarez basically called himself out pic.twitter.com/wNn5CrHD47
— Platinum Key (@PlatinumKey13) April 1, 2026
Kristopher Negrón, the Pirates bench coach, became the team's acting manager for the remainder of the game.
Negron brought right-handed pitcher Dennis Santana in, who helped the Pirates get out of a jam and secure the victory.
What Kelly Said on the Ejection
Kelly spoke about his ejection following the game with SportsNet Pittsburgh and that he wanted to stand up for his players and call out a clearly missed check swing call.
"It's hard to tell from behind and you know seeing it, you guys can watch the replay on the checked swing," Kelly said. "I didn't appreciate, Jordan was in our dugout when our guys are pulling for our guys and that's something we're going to do all year long is have each other's back and I'm going to have our guys' backs and I expect them to have their teammates' backs and I think that when you get a call like that in a big situation.
"We talked about it last year, we're fighting for respect every single day and that's going to be all year long that we continue to do that."
Kelly also re-affirmed that he's never going to stop his players from voicing their opinions and that everyone has to stick together in those tough moments.
"Yes we need to pull for our guys and we didn't think that the call was right and I'm never not going to tell our guys not to stand up for our team and I'm not going to stop standing up for our team," Kelly said.
Don Kelly's History of Ejections
Kelly took over as Pirates manager on May 8, 2025 and earned himself four ejections in his first season in charge.
He earned his first ejection in just his second game in charge vs. the Atlanta Braves on May 10 at PNC Park, arguing with home plate umpire Clint Vondrak on a call that he didn't care for, which got him thrown out in the top of the sixth inning in the 3-2 loss.
Kelly then received his second ejection less than a week later in the series opener vs. the Philadelphia Phillies at Citizens Bank Park on May 16, where third base umpire John Libka threw Kelly out, after he argued against what he saw was a missed check-swing call in an eventual 8-4 loss, after they led 3-1 in the bottom of the seventh inning.
His third ejection occurred in the series opener vs. the San Diego Padres on May 30, as Pirates catcher Henry Davis worked a full count with the bases loaded and his team down one run and home plate umpire Edwin Jimenez called a third strike on a ball way below the zone.
Kelly stood up for his catcher, but the Pirates would still take the 3-2 defeat.
His fourth and final ejection of 2025 came in the 14-0 loss to the Milwaukee Brewers on Aug. 12, after home plate umpire Roberto Ortiz didn't like hearing Kelly criticize him for a poor third strike call on outfielder Jack Suwinski in the top of the fifth inning.
Dominic writes for Pittsburgh Pirates On SI, Pittsburgh Panthers Pn SI and also, Pittsburgh Steelers On SI. A Pittsburgh native, Dominic grew up watching Pittsburgh Sports and wrote for The Pitt News as an undergraduate at the University of Pittsburgh, covering Pitt Athletics. He would write for Pittsburgh Sports Now after college and has years of experience covering sports across Pittsburgh.