Rangers’ Joc Pederson gets tossed from White Sox game after heated exchange

The Texas Rangers may have taken an 11-2 victory over the Chicago White Sox on Monday to move to first place in the AL West standings with a 66-66 record, but that win of theirs did not come without its fair share of drama. In the top of the second inning, Joc Pederson found himself in the center of a controversial strike three call for the second out of the inning.

The Rangers were already leading 2-0 at the time of Pederson’s strikeout, so it’s not like Texas lost a lot of ground with that turn of events. Nonetheless, Pederson felt that the 1-2 pitch from Jose Urquidy was low, and the home plate umpire made the wrong call. He then tapped his helmet, signaling the use of an ABS Challenge.

Home plate umpire Chris Guccione, however, did not grant Pederson the challenge. This infuriated Pederson, who continued chirping at the umpire all the way from the dugout. Fed up, Guccione tossed Pederson from the game as a result.

Joc Pederson was not happy with the home plate umpire after he was not granted an ABS challenge as the umpire thought he challenged too late.

Pederson checked the replay and started saying from the dugout that the pitch was low.

He continued to argue and the umpire ejected him… pic.twitter.com/QmIyljxzbe

— js9innings (@js9inningsmedia) August 25, 2026

Umpires are strict regarding the timing of ABS challenges, and Pederson seemed to hesitate for a split second. It is clear in the rules that the manager or coaches cannot request a challenge or assist players in requesting one. The Rangers may have given Pederson the green light to tap his helmet in the end, which led to Guccione’s decision not to grant the challenge.

This was Pederson’s second plate appearance of the night. He drew a walk and later on scored in the first inning, and his strikeout in the second inning marked an early end to his outing.

His ejection did not prove to be an issue for the Rangers in the end. They scored 11 runs on 14 hits and rose to the occasion to start a three-game series against a fellow division leader in the White Sox.

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