Farrell: No word from MLB after Friday night ejection

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NEW YORK -- Less than 12 hours after a combustible ninth inning that saw two members of the Red Sox ejected and the team left with a frustrating defeat to the Yankees, the Red Sox returned to Yankee Stadium, trying put the night behind them.
     
"The one thing I keep going back to,'' said John Farrell, "is the energy that we created at a team. I'm proud of the resillience we showed, the relentless to the at-bats that were taken, and we created a number of opportunities. In hindsight, you'd like to think that maybe the ninth inning wasn't as close as it was, given the opportunities prior to that.
     
"But still, a tough pill to swallow in the end."
     
The Red Sox maintained that home plate umpire Ron Kulpa missed a number of pitches throughout the night, none more important than two in David Ortiz's final at-bat with the bases loaded.
     
In the heated aftermath, Farrell was ejected and soon after, Ortiz, too, as Farrell came back on the field following his ejection. Ultimately, that might cost Farrell a suspension, but he had heard nothing from Major League Baseball prior to Saturday's game.
     
"I'm sure I'll hear something,'' said Farrell. "You always do when you're thrown out of a ballgame. We'll see what comes down.''
     
Of his return to the field, Farrell cracked: "It was a great finish to the game - I didn't want to miss it!"
     
Farrell said the tough setback could have a galvanizing effect on the club.
     
"I think it's one of the challenges you get thrown your way during the course of the year,'' said Farrell, "in line with some of the other things we've already faced. This team is a close-knit team and this is another opportunity for us and have David Price lead the way today for us. I'm confident we'll go out and play with the same energy and same fight that we showed [Friday] night and I wouldn't be surprised that is another one of those moments that  keeps the thread that runs through all of us a little bit tighter.''
     
Farrell said he returned to the field to protect Ortiz from having his confrontation with Kulpa escalate.
     
"The players are first and foremost,'' Farrell said. "Given what was taking place at the moment, you never want see any physical contact [with an umpire], as slight as it might be. I came out to step in. You get a sense of guys' personalities and what their initial reaction is and if it's going to escalate pretty quickly. That probably has a chance to escalate pretty quickly.''

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