Two Phillies coaches tossed after Elly De La Cruz safe call
Philadelphia Phillies pitching coach Caleb Cotham and infield coach Bobby Dickerson were ejected on July 7, 2026, after umpires upheld a safe call on Reds baserunner Elly De La Cruz at second base. The Phillies argued he abandoned the bag after overrunning it, but that element is not reviewable under MLB rules.
The flash point came during Philadelphia's 4-1 road win over Cincinnati at Great American Ball Park. With the Phillies leading, Orion Kerkering had loaded the bases after replacing Zack Wheeler, who tied a career high with 14 strikeouts in seven innings. Elly De La Cruz's baserunning—and the umpires' final ruling—set off one of the night's most heated exchanges.
Key Takeaways
- Reds star Elly De La Cruz was ruled safe at second after beating Bryson Stott's tag on a ground ball in the eighth inning.
- Manager Don Mattingly challenged the play, but replay officials could only review the safe-or-out call, not whether De La Cruz abandoned second base.
- Pitching coach Caleb Cotham and infield coach Bobby Dickerson were both ejected after arguing with the crew.
- Video showed Dickerson had to be held back by Mattingly while moving toward third-base umpire Lance Barrett.
- Philadelphia held on to win, 4-1, despite the lengthy delay and bench turmoil.
What happened on the disputed play at second base?
With one out and runners on first and second, Reds batter Sal Stewart hit a grounder to Phillies third baseman Alec Bohm. Bohm threw to Stott at second for the force on De La Cruz as Stewart was out at first.
De La Cruz sprinted through the bag rather than sliding, beating the throw by several feet. Phillies officials believed he failed to turn toward third and had effectively abandoned second—a tactic Mattingly later said his staff had seen in instructional video.
Why could the Phillies not overturn the call on review?
Mattingly stepped onto the field for a lengthy discussion with the four-man crew and requested a review. Crew chief Alfonso Márquez explained that while the safe-or-out call could be checked, abandoning the base path is not a challengeable issue.
Replays confirmed De La Cruz beat the throw, was not tagged while overrunning second, and returned to the bag. Under the rules cited by umpires, a runner who is safe and gets back to the base cannot be called out for abandonment on that sequence alone.
Reds manager Terry Francona praised De La Cruz, noting a quick jab step toward third that kept him legally on the base. The review and arguments stretched the delay to roughly eight minutes before play resumed.
Who was ejected and what triggered the outburst?
Once the safe call stood, Cotham began screaming at umpires on the field and was tossed by home-plate umpire Malachi Moore. Dickerson was ejected shortly after and charged toward Barrett before Mattingly restrained him—a moment captured in ESPN footage shared widely online.
Second-base umpire Mike Estabrook had made the initial safe call that replay upheld. The double ejection marked a rare night when Philadelphia lost two coaches in one argument, even as Kerkering escaped further damage with help from reliever Jonathan Bowlan.
How did the game finish after the incident?
Despite the chaos, the Phillies protected their lead. Wheeler dominated early, and Cincinnati never fully recovered after De La Cruz's sequence kept a rally alive. For readers tracking fast-moving sports stories alongside fintech and crypto alerts, the episode underscored how a single baserunning detail can shift momentum—and tempers—in a tight game.
MLB's official recap documented the full sequence, including Mattingly's postgame comments on the baserunning nuance. The Reds benefited from De La Cruz's awareness; the Phillies left Cincinnati with a win but plenty to debate. See the MLB.com breakdown for play-by-play detail.