Chris Sale Ejected Before Braves-Yankees Game Begins

Atlanta Braves pitcher Chris Sale was ejected by umpire Dan Merzel before the start of Sunday’s game against the New York Yankees. This incident occurred a day after he was penalized for a balk that resulted in a run.

As the umpires entered the field and passed by the Braves’ dugout, Sale started vocalizing his objections. This led to Merzel ejecting Sale. The situation escalated as Sale spoke to crew chief Dan Bellino near the dugout rail.

The previous day, during the fifth inning of a 5-4 loss, Merzel called Sale for his third career balk. The balk allowed rookie Spencer Jones to score after hitting an RBI triple. Sale’s outburst followed, continuing until manager Walt Weiss took over the argument and was also ejected.

Bellino explained that Sale was called for the balk due to failing to declare his pitching position from the windup. Although Sale indicated he would pitch from the windup when striking out José Caballero, he did not do so before Austin Wells’ at-bat.

This incident marks Sale’s fourth career ejection and his first since August 3, 2019. Back then, while playing for Boston, he was ejected by Mike Estabrook for disputing balls and strikes in a game against the Yankees.

On Saturday, Sale allowed three runs and five hits over six innings. It marked his first loss since June 28. In his third season with the Braves, the experienced left-hander holds a 12-7 record with a 2.20 ERA across 21 starts.