ST. LOUIS — The Los Angeles Dodgers made it clear they didn’t think highly of the umpiring during a weekend series in which the Cardinals took two of three at Busch Stadium.

A.J. Ellis and manager Don Mattingly both got thrown out of a 3-0 St. Louis win Friday, when Ellis told reporters he got the first ejection of his career because of an inconsistent strike zone and perceived criticism of his pitch framing from the home-plate umpire. After Justin Turner disagreed with a strike three call that ended Sunday’s 3-1 Cardinals win, one Dodgers player went so far as to suggest Busch Stadium offers a home-field advantage because umpires are influenced by the large crowds.

"Wow," Cardinals manager Mike Matheny said when told about the comments Wednesday. "Wonder why our guy got thrown out last night."

He was, of course, referring to the decision by home-plate umpire Joe West to throw out Matt Holliday, and subsequently, Matheny, after a third strike call on a pitch replays showed to be clearly inside. Matheny and Holliday both said afterward they were shocked by the decision, since they didn’t swear at the umpire and expected to get a longer leash.

"I knew that Matt was getting his say, but the fact that threw me off was the fact that he was walking off the field," Matheny said. "A 12-year veteran in the middle of a pretty substantial streak. I think what that did was just added to the surprise that he did get thrown."

Even though Matheny didn’t agree with West’s reasoning, though, he could understand it, particularly since other players had been complaining prior to Holliday’s at-bat. Matheny added he doesn’t have a problem with West’s decision to not address the ejection after the game.

"They’re human, too," Matheny said. "Sooner or later, you get tired of people barking at you and throwing stuff."

He’s not interested in seeing evaluations of umpires, and he’s also sympathetic to the fact that technology has made their jobs tougher.

"There’s advantages and disadvantages, and this is a disadvantage for the umpires to have the kind of technology that we have. But accountability is not bad for anybody and I think that’s something that’s been long due before we started analyzing, for all of us."

You can follow Luke Thompson on Twitter at @FS_LukeT or email him at lukegthompson87@gmail.com.