Twins manager Ron Gardenhire insisted he never said any magic words to plate umpire Chris Segal on Monday night, earning his 72nd career regular-season managerial ejection.

” ‘Check the ball’ should not get you thrown out,” Gardenhire said. “There’s other things I’ve said, believe me, that deserve a pitch, but not that one. Everybody has a right to ask that — except me.”

Gardenhire was tossed in the bottom of the first of a 6-4 loss to Kansas City after three-time batting champion Joe Mauer lingered at the plate and insisted his 3-2 foul tip had struck the dirt before landing in catcher Salvador Perez’s mitt.

“A silly thing,” Gardenhire called the disagreement, which could have been averted had Segal examined the ball for a scuff mark.

Once the initial dispute ended, cleanup hitter Kennys Vargas asked for the ball to be checked but Segal again refused. That’s when tempers flared in the home dugout and Gardenhire added to his career ejection lead among active managers.

“We play with a baseball. You should look at the thing,” Gardenhire said Tuesday. “They throw every ball out nowadays that has a mark on it — every ball. So why not check that one and see if it has a mark on it?”

Under current replay rules, foul tips are not subject to review. Gardenhire said he told crew chief Fieldin Culbreth that needs to change this offseason.

“A foul tip that hits the dirt should be a reviewable play,” Gardenhire said. “It’s not right now. It’s going to be tweaked — we hope.”

Follow Mike Berardino at twitter.com/MikeBerardino.