Chris Sale ejected before Yankees game after balk dispute

Chris Sale was ejected by umpire Dan Merzel before a pitch was thrown Sunday at Yankee Stadium, turning a balk dispute from the night before into a fresh confrontation between the Braves ace and the Yankees’ umpiring crew. The ejection came after Sale had been called for a balk that scored rookie Spencer Jones in Atlanta’s 5-4 loss to New York on Saturday, and Braves manager Walt Weiss had already been ejected in the fifth inning while arguing the call.

Sale’s removal happened as umpires walked onto the field and past the Braves’ dugout, before the game against the Yankees began. No immediate reason was given for the ejection. AP syndication indicated that Sale began barking at Merzel and also spoke to crew chief Dan Bellino as the exchange unfolded near the dugout rail.

The sequence began the day before, when Merzel charged Sale with the balk that brought in Jones and shifted the game’s momentum at Yankee Stadium. Weiss protested the ruling from the dugout and was tossed in the fifth inning. That made Saturday’s game a two-part dispute: the call itself, and the reaction it provoked from Atlanta’s dugout.

Sale had gone into the matchup on nine days’ rest, but the extended buildup did not prevent the balk call from becoming the center of attention. Instead, the argument spilled into Sunday’s pregame routine, with Sale and Merzel back in front of the same home crowd, and with Bellino drawn in to manage the dispute before the first pitch.

For Atlanta, the episode left the Braves dealing with another visible break between player and umpire authority after a loss decided in part by a balk call. For New York, it kept the Yankees’ series framed by officiating controversy rather than the box score.