Fans Torch Nestor Cortes After Alleged Intentional Ejection Backfires Miserably Against Twins

Nestor Cortes struggled to find the zone against the Twins on Friday Night. To make things worse, even his composure deserted him when the San Diego Padres needed it the most. The pitcher walked two and gave up five hits in the fourth inning before he was tossed for the first time in his career. Eventually, the Padres surrendered their fourth loss in the last five games. And it was his alleged intention behind the ejection that added fuel to the fans’ anger after the defeat.

Nestor Cortes’ ejection came during a mound visit following a walk to the Twins’ left fielder, Austin Martin. As home plate, umpire Manny Gonzalez walked towards the mound to break up the visit and ended up throwing Cortes out of the game.

Apparently, Cortes had said something to Gonzalez that he didn’t like. Cortés defended himself after the game. “I just told him, ‘Hey, I looked at the iPad, and you missed three out of four,’” he said while talking about the close calls he didn’t get. “I guess that was the turning point for him.”

Nestor Cortes isn’t really known for being confrontational on the field. Perhaps that’s why Gonzalez’s reaction surprised him. After Cortes’ exit, Wandy Peralta came in. He allowed both inherited runners to score on an error by second baseman Jake Cronenworth.

According to reports, Cortes had pulled the oldest trick in the book, which is to get himself tossed on purpose so Wandy Peralta could get more time to warm up. Cortes’ ejection may have been intentional, and it could have been helpful for Peralta. However, it didn’t help the team escape with a win.

After all, even in the fifth inning, the Twins added two more runs, including a solo homer by Royce Lewis. Then, during the seventh, the Padres answered with two runs on a single by Fernando Tatis Jr., cutting the score to 7-4. For now, fans aren’t happy with Cortes and how his ejection impacted the outcome of the game.

Fans Call Out Nestor Cortes After the Alleged Intentional Ejection

Nestor Cortes was visibly upset with the strike zone and became frustrated after issuing a walk on a ball that he felt was a strike. Throughout the season, Cortes has pitched 21 innings for the Padres, yielding a 3.00 ERA, as of Friday’s (August 29th, 2025) game. His starts have averaged more than five innings each, giving the Padres some relief for the bullpen. He was pretty much shocked with the umpire’s decision but fans were equally surprised, knowing that it was probably an intentional move.

One fan called Cortes out for being childish, saying, “Nestor Cortes is such a whiney baby. He had no reason to chew out the ump and get himself ejected. Now the Padres are paying for his childishness.” Well, to those fans, Cortes came out as immature for what was perceived as an argument with the umpire. It’s an expected code of conduct that the players or managers aren’t supposed to question the umpire’s call.

Yet, when Cortes did so, it didn’t come out well. After the game, he opened up about the ejection, saying, “Never been thrown out of a game, would never disrespect an umpire. Didn’t cuss him out. I thought I was pretty professional about the way I was letting him know that I wasn’t happy with his calls.” Clearly, questioning an umpire’s call has never ended well for players and managers alike.

Another fan, echoing the same frustration, noted, “Take out Nestor Cortes. Stop trying to give him a chance. He’s terrible. He might single-handedly sell the lead back to Minnesota if you don’t take him out.” This fan focused more on Cortes’ poor play than ejection. Cortes allowed three runs on five hits and two walks in just over three innings pitched against the Twins. If Cortes tried to help the reliever to give him more time to warm up, it just didn’t make sense. Eventually, the Padres lost by 7-4, and the ejection just added to the disappointment.

Some fans saw a silver lining, joking about the ejection as a clever tactic. “Big brain move. Get tossed to get your reliever more warmup tosses. 😂” Had the Padres won after Nestor Cortes’ move, then he wouldn’t be facing these harsh criticisms. However, the Padres lost, and it only added to the sarcastic jabs and mounting frustration from the fans.

Some fans admitted they wanted to support Cortes but couldn’t overlook his struggles. “I want to like Nestor Cortes but he’s been pretty bad.” His 3.00 ERA is certainly not good enough to compete in the remainder of the season. “Nestor Cortes sucks soooo badly #Padres,” said another fan. This was a prime opportunity for the Padres to close the gap in the standings. However, the game didn’t go their way. Now, they’ve two more games left against the Twins, with the chance to put an overall positive spin to this series.