Brewers' Counsell rips umpire after ejection

Craig Counsell's Saturday afternoon ended a little earlier than expected, as the manager was ejected for arguing balls and strikes.

After he was thrown out, the Milwaukee Brewers manager got even more heated and berated home plate umpire Mike Estabrook - who ejected Ryan Braun earlier - and appeared to bump him with his hat.

Counsell's ejection came immediately after star outfielder Lorenzo Cain grounded out with a runner on third for the final out of the eighth inning after taking what seemed to be at least one - and maybe two - balls for called strikes during the at-bat.

"I definitely should have walked there," Cain told Adam McCalvy of MLB.com following the loss to the Philadelphia Phillies. "(Estabrook) missed two pitches there that I knew were balls. But it'll do me no good (complaining) about umpires because nothing's going to happen.

"You saw it," Cain continued. "You saw where the pitches were located. It definitely could have been a game-changer if I walk there and bring (Christian Yelich) to the plate and see what happens."

At the time, the Brewers had already scored one run in the inning and were trailing 4-2, which would have made Yelich the go-ahead run.

"They were just clear balls," Counsell said postgame on Fox Sports Wisconsin. "... There are 50-50 balls that we all understand are going to go either way. Those are balls. And, you know, they gotta get those ones right."

Counsell, who appeared to scream "don't push me" during the fracas, according to McCalvy, deflected questions about what he said to Estabrook.

Braun, ejected in the fourth, also piled on, adding that "Jake Arrieta is really good ... He didn't need extra help," per McCalvy.