Major League Baseball games played Sunday, July 8, 2007: A complete slate of 15 games played on the day before the 2007 All Star break began produced a total of three ejections.

In Arlington, Texas, where the Rangers were hosting the Baltimore Orioles, Rangers left fielder Frank Catalanotto got a head start on his mini-vacation when home plate umpire Lance Barksdale ejected Catalanotto in the bottom of the 1st inning for arguing a called strike three. Interestingly, Catalanotto was replaced in the lineup by a second baseman, as starting second baseman Jerry Hairston Jr. moved to left field in the top of the 2nd inning. The Rangers went on to win the game by a score of 2-1. 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. And additional coverage is available from The Dallas Morning News; The Fort Worth Star-Telegram; The Baltimore Sun; The Washington Post; and The Associated Press.

Yesterday's other two ejections occurred in Oakland, where the Athletics hosted the Seattle Mariners. In the top of the 7th inning, with the bases loaded, Mariners left fielder Raul Ibanez hit a base-clearing double that went to the wall in left-center, driving in three runs. On the play, the relay throw to home plate by A's shortstop Bobby Crosby could not be handled on a bounce by the catcher, rolling to a spot adjacent to where Mariners designated hitter Ichiro Suzuki was standing. The errant throw allowed Ibanez to reach third base. While heading over to retrieve the live ball, A's starting pitcher Joe Blanton shoved Ichiro out of the way. That led to an on-field scrum that took a while to sort out. Home plate umpire Travis Reininger -- a 2007 minor league call-up umpire -- ended up ejecting both A's pitcher Blanton and Mariners pitcher Miguel Batista, who was not even in the game at the time of the incident and who does not appear to have done anything objectionable. You can access the box score at this link, while wraps from MLB.com are available here and here. You can view photos of the incident here, here, here, here, here, and here. Additional coverage is available from The Oakland Tribune; The San Francisco Chronicle; The Seattle Times; The Seattle Post-Intelligencer; and The Associated Press.

Credit umpire Travis Reininger with two ejections, umpire Lance Barksdale with one ejection, and adjust your Umpire Fantasy League standings accordingly.