Donaldson: I wasn't talking to umpire when ejected

Maybe the Minnesota Twins knew what they were doing.

Toronto Blue Jays third baseman Josh Donaldson said that his bizarre ejection just two batters into his team's 5-3 loss came because he yelled back at someone in the Twins dugout who was chirping him, and not at home-plate umpire Toby Basner. Donaldson did so while passing directly in front of Basner, however, which prompted the quick hook.

"He must have thought I was talking to him," Donaldson told Sportsnet's Arden Zwelling. "I don't know why he would be thinking that I was talking to him in any kind of derogatory manner. We have no previous history between each other. There's no conflict between him and I. That's why I was so shocked to get thrown out so quickly."

(Courtesy: MLB.com)

Crew chief Joe West confirmed Donaldson's story, but stood by his fellow umpire's decision to toss him from the contest.

"When he went by the home plate umpire he yelled, 'f--- you,'" West said. "So, the home plate umpire ejected him, and understandably so. Donaldson argued, 'I wasn't talking to you.' But at the time that he did it, he was right in (Basner's) direction."

Donaldson admitted that he and Banser had a brief discussion during his at-bat after an unidentified Twins player took umbrage with a called ball in the 30-year-old's favor, and he told Banser to not "allow them to chirp you and then change the zone." This incident didn't appear to play a role in the ejection.

Though he was frustrated by the ejection, what upset Donaldson the most was not being able to help the Blue Jays avoid their sixth loss in the last eight games.

"My intentions were not to say anything to Toby or to be ejected at all," Donaldson said. "It's tough. It's really tough. Our guys are out there, we're feeling pretty good about ourselves these last couple days. And then for me to get ejected coming off a pretty good night last night, it's not something you want to do."