Braves' Chris Sale ejected before game sees first pitch for yelling at umpire over Saturday balk call
Atlanta Braves starter Chris Sale was ejected on Sunday afternoon at Yankee Stadium, and he wasn’t even scheduled to pitch.
Before the game even started, Sale was still fuming about a balk call on Saturday night against the New York Yankees that he decided to unload on the umpire who called him for it.
As umpires took the field for the series finale between the Braves and Yankees in the Bronx, Sale started to yell toward umpire Dan Merzel before Yankees starter Cam Schlittler threw an official pitch.
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Merzel clearly didn’t like what he was hearing, and who can blame him after the ordeal occurred the night before. Merzel quickly ejected Sale, but the veteran left-hander continued to get his money’s worth as he shouted something toward crew chief Dan Bellino.
Sale rarely balks. In fact, he did it only twice prior to Saturday night for his entire career.
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But Merzel called him for that third career balk in the fifth inning on Saturday night, which allowed Yankees rookie Spencer Jones to score after hitting an RBI triple the at-bat prior.
In the end, the run proved costly with the Yankees picking up the victory, 5-4. Braves manager Walt Weiss was tossed from the game, but he likely did so because Sale was barking at Merzel and he stepped in between to continue the argument.
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After the game, Bellino said to a pool reporter that Sale was called for the balk after not declaring he was going to be pitching from the windup. He said Sale was pitching from the windup when he struck out José Caballero, but he didn’t do so before facing Austin Wells.
Sale’s night in the Bronx ended with three runs allowed on five hits across six innings in what was his first loss since late June. He has enjoyed quite the season with the NLEast-leading Braves, owning a 2.20 ERA across 21 starts.
The Braves managed to salvage the series on Sunday, as they defeated the Yankees, 2-1, in extra innings. But Sale couldn’t watch it from the dugout all game long after being tossed.
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