Ump tosses three Braves

Eric O’Flaherty was sure he had picked up a key strikeout. Instead, the Atlanta Braves left-hander was ejected along with manager Bobby Cox and third baseman Chipper Jones.

And J.D. Drew, given another chance, singled in the run that gave the Red Sox a 5-4 lead in the seventh inning of their 6-5 win Sunday in Boston.

“It’s the whole game right there, the whole game can change with one pitch,” O’Flaherty said. “You throw a fastball right down the middle. They don’t call it. Obviously, there were quite a few today.”

The Braves tied the game on Garret Anderson’s RBI single in the eighth before Boston won it on Nick Green’s homer on the first pitch of the bottom of the ninth.

The ejection for Jones was the sixth of his career and first this season. It was the first of O’Flaherty’s career. Both said they were thrown out by plate umpire Bill Hohn even though they didn’t curse.

“I said, ‘How can you miss that? It’s right down the middle,’ ” O’Flaherty said, “not one cuss word.”

Jones said Hohn was baiting O’Flaherty and stepped in to defend the pitcher.

“I was upset that he was looking for a fight with my pitcher,” Jones said. “There’s no reason for him to come out from behind the home plate area.”

Cox came out of the dugout, argued with Hohn and was thrown out for the 145th time in his career, extending his major league record.

“I don’t know why umpires miss strikes. I’ll never understand that,” Cox said. “Drew was taking off. He thought it was strike three.”

Howard’s run ends

Ryan Howard was released from the hospital Sunday but did not play for the Philadelphia Phillies against Baltimore, ending his consecutive games streak at 343.

Howard was hospitalized Saturday for the second time in two nights with flu symptoms. The slugger was released Sunday but was not at the ballpark.

Howard had at CT scan and needed antibiotics. He might have a sinus infection, Phillies trainer Scott Sheridan said.

Dice-K on DL

Struggling Red Sox starter Daisuke Matsuzaka went on the 15-day disabled list and could be sidelined much longer.

“This is not going to be a two-week DL,” manager Terry Francona said. “We have a lot of work ahead of us to get him back to being Daisuke.”

Matsuzaka is 1-5 with an 8.23 ERA and an opponents’ batting average of .378. He went on the DL with a mild right shoulder strain after an MRI on Saturday showed no structural damage.

Sabathia injured

Yankees pitcher CC Sabathia left the game against the Marlins in the second inning with tightness in his left biceps.

The team said Sabathia is day to day and that no tests are planned.