Red Sox pitcher Walker Buehler was ejected in the third inning against the New York Mets on Tuesday night and manager Alex Cora followed him to the clubhouse after heated arguments with umpire Mike Estabrook.
Buehler and Estabrook exchanged words after Francisco Lindor, who was hit by a hit, stole second on a pitch Estabrook called a ball, pushing the count on Juan Soto to 2-0.
The right-hander’s response drew Estabrook from behind the plate, where he took off his mask and held up his hand and indicated Buehler had said enough. Buehler continued and quickly got tossed.
“I’m not going to talk about what he did or didn’t do. I don’t think it’s my place,” Buehler said after the game, which the Red Sox won 2-0 after six relievers combined to complete the shutout. “For me, it kind of spiraled a little bit and I said some things that he thought I shouldn’t have said and whatnot. At the end of the day, putting our team in a position like that is the only thing I really regret about that situation.”
Buehler, who was activated earlier in the day from the injured list, was ejected for just the second time in his career. The first came when he pitched for the Dodgers against the Mets on Aug. 20, 2021.
Buehler’s ejection prompted Cora to come running from the dugout. Cora shouted in Estabrook’s face for a while and first base umpire Laz Diaz eventually stepped in to keep the two apart. Cora made contact with Diaz as he continued to verbally let loose on Estabrook, then finally made his way to the clubhouse to cheers from Boston fans.
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Diaz, the crew chief, told a pool reporter after the game that Buehler was tossed because he stepped off the mound toward Estabrook to argue a call.
“He can say stuff from the mound. But once he comes off the mound, he’s leaving his position to argue balls and strikes,” Diaz said. “Once anybody leaves their position to argue balls and strikes, that’s an immediate ejection.”
Cora said the ejection caught him by surprise and he was hoping Estabrook would spare his pitcher and toss the manager instead.
“You can throw me out and we can keep the pitcher in the game but I guess he had enough. I don’t know why. At that point, well I’ve got to go, too,” said Cora, who missed Boston’s victory Monday night in the series opener to attend his daughter’s college graduation. “I thought yesterday was a good day for us without me so I decided to do it again.”
Brennan Bernardino took over for the next 1 2/3 innings as the Red Sox improved to 2-0 in the three-game series. Garrett Whitlock (2-0) got the win as the Red Sox got back to .500 at 25-25. Aroldis Chapman pitched the ninth for his eighth save.
Buehler didn’t allow a hit in his 2 1/3 innings, striking out four and walking two.
Reporting by The Associated Press.
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