MILWAUKEE - A pitch thrown behind Jamey Carroll? The Twins' mild-mannered veteran infielder? How does that happen?
"I have no idea," Carroll said Sunday, after the Twins lost 16-4 to Milwaukee. "You have to ask them over there. If they were angry about something, they can enjoy being angry. I really don't know. I wasn't prepared or expecting it."
Plate umpire Hunter Wendelstedt ejected Brewers righthander Tim Dillard when his first pitch of the ninth inning sailed behind Carroll. Milwaukee manager Ron Roenicke protested, to no avail.
"They said he's got too good of command to throw a ball behind the guy," Roenicke said. "[Wendelstedt] said, 'You guys have been hit three times in the game, and that's what I saw.' "
Trying to get an explanation, Carroll was told by Brewers catcher Jonathan Lucroy that it was for when Nyjer Morgan was hit by a Jeff Gray pitch in the seventh inning.
"I heard Lucroy say it was Nyjer Morgan," Carroll said. "Then Hunter made us shut up and that it's part of the game and get in the box and let's go. So I really can't give you a definite [answer] because we got our conversation cut off."
The Brewers play the Twins on June 15-17 at Target Field.
"We were just trying to get through innings," Twins manager Ron Gardenhire said. "We weren't trying to hit anybody. Obviously, they felt something. We had no reason to throw at Morgan. He hadn't done anything to us. We pretty much stunk up the field. We don't need to throw at anybody, but I think they thought so."