Major League Baseball games played Thursday, April 24, 2008: Thanks to a double-header in Kansas City, there were sixteen games on the Major League Baseball calendar Thursday. And those sixteen games produced a total of four ejections.

At Disney World in Lake Buena Vista, Florida, where the Tampa Bay Rays hosted the Toronto Blue Jays, first base umpire Tim McClelland ejected Blue Jays right fielder Alex Rios at the conclusion of the top of the 3rd inning after McClelland ruled that Rios's bat had gone around far enough on a swing to constitute strike three. Rios, who maintained that it was a check-swing, then flipped his bat, threw his helmet to the ground, and shouted, earning the early exit from the game, as reported by MLB.com in an article headlined "Rios ejected in third inning vs. Rays; Outfielder throws down bat, helmet after call on check swing." The Blue Jays were leading 2-0 at the time but ended up losing 5-3. You can access the box score at this link, while wraps from MLB.com are available here and here. You can view related photos here and here. Additional coverage is available from The Toronto Globe and Mail; The Toronto Star; The St. Petersburg Times; The Tampa Tribune; The Orlando Sentinel; and The Associated Press.

In Seattle, where the Mariners hosted the Baltimore Orioles, home plate umpire Casey Moser (a 2008 minor league call-up umpire) ejected Mariners manager John McLaren for arguing balls and strikes in the top of the 7th inning. The Mariners had been leading 5-3 at the end of the 6th inning but managed to surrender four runs in the top of the 7th and never regained the lead, losing 8-7. You can access the box score at this link, while wraps from MLB.com are available here and here. You can view a related photo at this link. Additional coverage is available from The Seattle Times; The Seattle Post-Intelligencer; The Baltimore Sun; The Washington Post; and The Associated Press.

And in Los Angeles, where the Dodgers hosted the Arizona Diamondbacks, second base umpire Andy Fletcher ejected both Dodgers second baseman Jeff Kent and Dodgers manager Joe Torre in the top of the 9th inning for continuing to argue a call, which Fletcher had made in the top of the 8th inning, that Kent had removed his foot from the second base bag before receiving the throw from the Dodgers third baseman on a grounder to third and thereby had failed to record the force-out on the runner who was on first base when the play began. The Diamondbacks won the game by a score of 6-4. You can view the box score at this link, while wraps from MLB.com are available here and here. You can view related photos here, here, and here. Additional coverage is available from The Los Angeles Times; The Los Angeles Daily News; The Arizona Republic; and The Associated Press.

Credit umpire Andy Fletcher with two ejections, giving him a total of three for the season; credit umpires Tim McClelland and Casey Moser with one ejection, for each the first of the season; and adjust your Umpire Fantasy League standings accordingly.