Umpire Andy Fletcher attempts to charge mound against Jon Lester

It’s not uncommon to see a pitcher get into a fight with an umpire during a game. It is uncommon to see an umpire charge the pitcher’s mound during one of those arguments.

That’s precisely what happened to Jon Lester during the Chicago Cubs game Thursday. At the start of the second inning, Lester walked A.J. Ellis on seven pitches. Lester appeared to be visually upset after the pitch, and was yelling something as he caught the ball from David Ross.

Umpire Andy Fletcher believed Lester took issue with the strike zone, and began to approach the mound. Fletcher made it about halfway there before Ross intervened. Ross did a good enough job distracting Fletcher, allowing Joe Maddon to make his way out to the field.

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Maddon was able to take Fletcher’s attention away from Lester, and the two retreated to home plate to argue. Amazingly, no member of the Cubs was ejected during the argument. 

After the game, Lester explained that he wasn’t upset with the strike zone, he was upset about his lack of control, according to Carrie Muskat of MLB.com.

“I didn’t say anything directly to him,” Lester said. “I don’t know why he was so upset. I had my head down when I was yelling. Nothing was directed at him … and I don’t know what was going on. It had nothing to do with the umpire’s strike zone. I have to execute better.”

Ross said it was probably the first time he’s ever had to step in front of an umpire during an argument. He explained that he did so in order to protect his pitcher.

“Andy wanted to make sure [Lester’s reaction] wasn’t directed toward him,” Ross said. “I was making sure [Fletcher] would talk to me and not Jon.”

In the end, cooler heads prevailed. Fletcher didn’t make it all the way out to Lester, and, somehow, Maddon and Ross were able to stay in the game. 

It’s reasonable to expect disaster any time an umpire attempts to charge the mound. In this instance, the best-case scenario prevailed.

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Chris Cwik is a writer for Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter! Follow @Chris_Cwik