“He had some words for the umpire from yesterday,” Braves manager Walt Weiss said. “Everyone had their say, and we moved on.” Apparently, Chris Sale didn’t, and he made that clear when the umpires were walking past the Atlanta Braves dugout on Sunday. It originally stemmed from a disagreement between the pitcher and the umpire on Saturday, and it ended with the official throwing him out even before the first pitch of the game.

The Braves were visiting Yankee Stadium, and the veteran starter allowed 5 hits and 3 earned runs over 6.0 innings on Saturday. But the biggest moment of the second game wasn’t the box score or his stats. It was a call from home plate umpire Dan Merzel that took center stage. 

“Umpires ejected Sale pretty much as soon as they walked onto the field,” Jomboy Media captioned the clip shared on X. 

Sale reentered the mound in the fifth with the Braves leading 2-1. He first walked George Lombard Jr. following two back-to-back overturned strike calls. Then there was Spencer Jones, who recorded a triple while Lombard scored. With the teams tied, Sale went into his windup and struck out José Caballero, after which Austin Wells came to bat. Before he threw a pitch to the new batter, Sale slightly hitched his right leg. Merzel noticed it immediately and called a balk. 

Controversial it may have been, but it still allowed Jones to reach home, and the Yankees were ahead 3-2. According to MLB rules, a hybrid pitcher like Sale is supposed to announce when he is changing from a stretch to a windup.

“Chris Sale failed to declare that he was going to pitch out of the windup for the second batter, and he’s required by rule to make that declaration as a hybrid pitcher,” crew chief Dan Bellino remarked, as per Chad Bishop on X. 

It wasn’t done yet, though.

The 37-year-old immediately started arguing with the umpire and went on for over a minute. Then his manager entered the field. Weiss, too, had a lengthy conversation before the umpire ejected him. 

Now, pair both the costly balk and the ejection, and the Braves were pretty much doomed from that point on. They ultimately fell to the Yankees 5-4, and the starter earned his first loss since June 28.  

That was the story for Saturday, but then came Sunday and…

Chris Sale uttered something when the umpires were walking past them before the game. Clearly Merzel didn’t like what he was hearing, and he ejected Sale even before the rubber game started. 

The commentators initially thought they were fooling around, but the decision was real. However, it didn’t have an impact on the player, as he wasn’t pitching on Sunday. The $27 million pitcher just had to watch his team win the third game (2-1) from the clubhouse instead of the dugout. 

Chris Sale’s fiery side has been on display before

The 2024 NL Cy Young winner suffered the fourth ejection of his 16-year MLB career. And if there is one thing that the fans know about him, it is that he has never been shy about showing his emotions on the field. The most notable instance was in 2016 when he cut up the Chicago White Sox’s throwback jersey. 

The club was celebrating its World Series championship from four decades ago, and they decided to wear 1976 navy blue, collared jerseys on July 22, 2016. But Sale felt that it was quite uncomfortable and requested that the franchise allow him to wear a different one. 

“When I saw that there was something in the way of that 100 percent winning mentality, I had an issue,” he said. “I tried to bring it up and say, ‘Hey, listen, these are my thoughts and concerns,’ and they got pushed away because of the business deal that was set in place.”

He later apologized to the fans, as his passion for winning outweighed nostalgia. His stunt, though, earned him a 5-day suspension and $250,000 off his salary. He also had to pay a $12,700 fine to cover the cost of the jersey. 

However, his Sunday reaction only ended up in an ejection. It was the first time since August 3, 2019. Back then, he was with the Boston Red Sox, and it was also against the Yankees. 

Chris Sale is still one of the top contenders for the NL Cy Young Award this year. He has a 2.20 ERA with 151 strikeouts and a 12-7 record. Meanwhile, the Atlanta Braves are on top of the NL East with a 71-47 record. Hence, two ejections on two days and a series loss wouldn’t change much for them.