BOSTON — David Ortiz still was seething yesterday morning about his ejection from Friday night’s game by plate umpire Tony Randazzo. And he wasn’t in a much better mood after Charlie Reliford’s ball-and-strike calls yesterday.

Friday night, Ortiz had gotten in Randazzo’s face after the umpire called strike three on a 2-and-2 slider from Barry Zito in the first inning. As Ortiz got near the Sox’ dugout, he took off his helmet and, with his back to the plate, tossed his helmet and bat in the direction of Randazzo, though not coming at all close to the umpire.

That was when Randazzo ejected him, much to the surprise of Ortiz and manager Terry Francona.

“He threw me out because he wanted to,” said Ortiz, the Sox’ burly designated hitter. “If you want to throw me out, you throw me out when I’m right in your face. Not when I’m in the dugout. What did I do for him to throw me out? Put my helmet and my bat down. I didn’t throw it to him.”

Francona yesterday said he was mystified by the timing of the ejection.

“I think you’ve got to keep it in perspective a bit. If he throws his helmet and it goes in the dugout, nothing happens. Nobody says anything. I don’t think it’s necessarily correct to say (it was) mounting frustration (on Ortiz’s part). He got all the way back to the dugout and didn’t get thrown out. The umpire was doing as much (talking), maybe not as much, but not letting up,” said Francona.

Ortiz has had a reputation as someone who complains on almost every called strike. Francona, though, doesn’t think it’s necessarily deserved.

“I think David’s got a very good reputation around the league,” said Francona. “We talked to all our hitters about not swinging at balls. David, because he’s a DH, has the ability to look at all the pitches all game (on TV). He wants to swing at strikes because we harp on him about that. You go through periods where sometimes the plate gets wider, sometimes it doesn’t. That’s baseball.”

Ortiz was upset that one pitch of the at-bat seemed to be several inches off the outside of the plate and was called a strike, and the last pitch he thought was inside, and that was called a strike, too. His protest is if the umpire is going to give the pitcher that much on both sides of the plate, it’s impossible to be a successful hitter because those aren’t strikes, in his opinion.

Ortiz is likely to get fined for the ejection, but not suspended.

He thought, though, that maybe he might be due for the benefit of a few of those borderline calls.

“I bet it gets better now,” he said as he left the clubhouse to take batting practice.

He was wrong.

Ortiz was called out on strikes in the fourth inning yesterday by Reliford, yesterday’s plate umpire, on a 2-and-2 fastball on the outside corner. Ortiz stood at the plate for a moment, stunned the pitch had been called a strike, and shook his head in disagreement, but didn’t turn back to argue with the umpire. Instead, he walked slowly back to the dugout.

“The (bleeping) strike zone was crazy, man,” said Ortiz after the game. “That was a big (bleeping) strike zone. Don’t get me wrong. He (Giants pitcher Matt Cain) has good stuff. But that ball was 10 inches off the plate. I would have liked to see (Sox starter) Josh Beckett pitch today. I’ll bet you he would have thrown a no-hitter.”

The Giants weren’t so thrilled with Reliford’s work, either, sputtering about several called third strikes, especially a 3-and-2 slider to Rich Aurilia that looked outside with the bases filled and two outs in the sixth when a bases-loaded walk would have produced a 1-1 tie.

“The umps have their jobs to do and we have ours,” said ex-Red Sox player Dave Roberts, who was rung up for a called third strike in the seventh. “I’m not going to be too critical, but there definitely were some calls we weren’t too happy about.”

Ramirez rings up No. 479

The homer for Manny Ramirez was his 44th in interleague play, tying him with Carlos Delgado for third-most behind Jim Thome (52) and Ken Griffey Jr. (46).

It was only Ramirez’s ninth homer of the year (479th of his career), and just his third in his last 117 at-bats. Of his nine homers, five have been solo shots, including yesterday’s. He also has three two-run homers and one three-run blast.

Lugo takes a seat

Slumping Julio Lugo, in a 14-for-105 (.133) tailspin that has dropped his average from .265 to a season-low .210, was out of the starting lineup yesterday, replaced by Alex Cora. His benching might have occurred a couple of days earlier, but the opposition started a left-hander Thursday and Friday, so Francona elected to keep Lugo, a right-handed hitter, in the lineup though he was dropped down to the No. 9 spot in the order.

Standing ‘O’ once again

For the second game in a row, Roberts, a Red Sox postseason hero in 2004, was given a standing ovation as he stepped to the plate for his first at-bat, leading off the first inning.

Yesterday, though it was again a prolonged and loud greeting from the fans, Roberts wasn’t as demonstrative in his thanks and appreciation as he had been Friday night, when he stepped out and waved to the fans. No doubt he felt a bit embarrassed by an ovation the second day in, having been there, done that on Friday night.

smcadam@projo.com