On August 4, Burke Badenhop entered the game in the top of the seventh to face J.J. Hardy. Badenhop trailed 2-1 in the count before rallying and punching Hardy out. Always awkward but rarely demonstrative, Badenhop reacted like Grant Balfour after the strikeout:
What cause the eruption? Evidently Jose Molina. Immediately following the umpire’s call, Badenhop made this gesture with his glove towards Molina:
And why? Because Molina bailed out Badenhop by framing back-to-back pitches as strikes. First on 2-1:
Then on 2-2:
No wonder Badenhop has a reputation for being a smart guy.
