In New York, Atlanta Braves star pitcher Chris Sale was ejected before throwing a pitch in Sunday's game against the New York Yankees, as reported by infohub.kz.
As umpires took the field and walked by the Braves' dugout on the third base side, Sale began arguing with umpire Dan Merzel. Merzel ejected him, and Sale exchanged words with crew chief Dan Bellino near the dugout rail.
This was Sale's fourth career ejection. His previous ejection occurred on Aug. 3, 2019, while pitching for Boston, when he was tossed for arguing balls and strikes at Yankee Stadium.
In Saturday's game, Sale allowed three runs and five hits in six innings, his first loss since June 28. In his third season with the Braves, the veteran left-hander is 12-7 with a 2.20 ERA in 21 starts.
Notably, Sale was called for a balk in the fifth inning of Saturday's 5-4 loss, which allowed rookie Spencer Jones to score after an RBI triple. Sale reacted angrily, and manager Walt Weiss was also ejected after continuing the argument.
Bellino later told reporters that Sale was called for the balk because he did not declare he was pitching from the windup. According to Bellino, Sale had declared the windup when striking out José Caballero but did not do so before facing Austin Wells.