Javy Báez responds powerfully to Phil Cuzzi after ejection in Tigers-Giants game

Javy Báez isn't a guy who's known for his familiarity with the strike zone (to put it mildly), but everyone knew he was right when he took exception to home plate umpire Phil Cuzzi ringing him up on a curveball inches below the zone on Monday afternoon.

Cuzzi's strike zone had been wonky for the entire game, affecting both the Tigers and the Giants in their series opener, and Báez decided he'd seen enough in the bottom of the fifth. He turned to Cuzzi to argue the call, turned back a few times to reengage, and then he was tossed before AJ Hinch could make it to the plate to defend his player.

Báez went ballistic, and Comerica roared in agreement. He had to be held back by both Gleyber Torres and Joey Cora, but that didn't stop him from trying to wrestle out of it to have a real go at Cuzzi.

"It's not even about the call. It's about how he treated me,” Báez said of the ejection. "I'm not an animal. We can talk. We can argue. And that's it. If he would've told me, 'Okay, I missed it,' I would’ve shut up and gone to the dugout. I know he’s not perfect. But don’t treat me like that."

Javy Báez had the perfect response to being ejected by umpire Phil Cuzzi in Tigers-Giants opener

It's still strange hearing Comerica cheer for Báez, but even if he hadn't hit that epic walk-off homer against the Red Sox (you know the one), the stadium still would've been on his side after that call from Cuzzi.

The Tigers responded to Báez's ejection by loading the bases on a Kerry Carpenter single and back-to-back walks for Torres and Andy Ibáñez. Riley Greene broke things open for the Tigers with a two-run single that ended up winning the game for Detroit, as the bullpen held San Francisco to just one run after five scoreless innings for Keider Montero.

Hinch had a few words for Cuzzi himself after Báez was tossed, but he stopped just short of getting thrown out of the game himself. He said, "I'm out there to defend or prevent the player (from being ejected). My regret is that I didn't go out at the very beginning of the argument. That's where I'm mostly frustrated, because it changed the rest of that inning. We should've had a runner on first — we didn’t — and then we lose Javy."

At least Cuzzi won't be behind the plate for this rest of this series, and hopefully the rest of his crew can do a better job than he did on Monday.