An unseasonably cold Tuesday night at Fenway heated up in a hurry when Red Sox starter Walker Buehler and manager Alex Cora were ejected from with one out in the top of the third of what was ultimately a 2-0 Boston win.
“First off, I think obviously the bullpen, like today’s game, is a story about the bullpen,” Buehler said postgame. “Obviously I put them in a really tough spot off of a day that we asked a lot of them, a lot out of them, yesterday.”
Buehler hadn’t allowed a hit when he plunked Francisco Lindor to put the New York Mets’ leadoff man on first. Lindor then successfully stole second while Buehler threw his second pitch to Juan Soto. The 89.9 mph cutter was clearly well within the strike zone, but home plate umpire Mike Estabrook ruled it a ball.
Within a span of barely 15 seconds, Buehler began arguing the call and walking toward home plate. He shouted, “That’s right down the middle! It’s right down the middle!”
Estabrook called back, “Get back on the mound!”
“It’s right down the (expletive) middle!” screamed Buehler, as catcher Carlos Narváez ran up to hold him back.
Estabrook, who’d already removed his mask and begun striding toward the mound as well, dramatically ejected the right-hander.
After being rung, Buehler shouted, “(Expletive) you,” before stalking back to the dugout.
Estabrook then had to contend with Cora, who hadn’t even had time to leave the dugout before the umpire had tossed Buehler.
“I wasn’t even paying attention,” Cora said postgame, explaining that he was waiting for the call to see if the Red Sox were going to challenge the play. “And then I look up and he threw him out.”
Their conversation quickly grew heated, and crew chief Laz Diaz had to hold the Sox skipper back and lead him away from Estabrook.
“I was just begging, ‘Just give me a break, you know, like I’ll go out and you can throw me out, we’ll keep the pitcher in the game,’ but I guess he had enough,” Cora said of the exchange with Estabrook. “I don’t know why, or, at that point, well, I gotta go, too.”
Thus, for the second night in a row, bench coach Ramon Vázquez stepped in to fill the manager’s shoes. He helmed Monday’s series opener, as Cora was at his daughter’s college graduation.
“I thought yesterday was a good day for us without me, so I decided to do it again,” Cora joked.
Buehler’s ejection created a different issue. The Red Sox are in a stretch of 13 consecutive games, and don’t have their next day off until next Thursday, May 29. Coming off three consecutive starts of no more than 4.2 innings from Lucas Giolito, Brayan Bello, and rookie Hunter Dobbins, the Boston bullpen needed a light night.
Instead, the Red Sox used a new season-high seven pitchers in the game. Brennan Bernardino, Garrett Whitlock, Justin Wilson, Greg Weissert, Justin Slaten and Aroldis Chapman followed Buehler. Backed by a defense that gave no quarter, the relief ranks combined for 6.2 shutout innings in which the Mets collected just four hits and one walk.
“They did an amazing job,” Cora said. “Obviously we were in a tough spot. They found ways, played good defense behind them, and Narvy did an outstanding job (catching).”
Mets starter Clay Holmes lasted six innings, and gave up the only two runs of the night: solo Green Monster homers to Narváez and Rafael Devers, the first and third batters of the fifth inning.
Before leaving the dugout after his ejection, Cora hit the bullpen phone box hard enough that the cover came off the hinges.
“I don’t show too much emotion, but that one, it hurt too, by the way,” Cora said of the whack.
When Narváez broke the scoreless stalemate with his blast, Rob Refsnyder held the cover aloft in the dugout. The Sox catcher, freshly adorned with the Wally head, gave it a tap as he came down the steps to high-five his teammates.
Tanner Houck was holding the cover up when Devers solo-homered moments later. Devers’ 210th career home run moved him into a tie with Rico Petrocelli for 10th all-time in franchise history.
All told, it took two hours and 33 minutes for the Red Sox to cobble together one of the most chaotic, gutsy, impressive team victories of the season. The shutout win also put them back at .500 (25-25) and clinched the series.
Postgame, Diaz said Buehler was ejected “for coming off the mound arguing balls and strikes,”
“He can say stuff from the mound,” Diaz reiterated. “But once he comes off the mound, he’s leaving his position to argue balls and strikes. Once anybody leaves their position to argue balls and strikes, that’s an immediate ejection.”
Cora got tossed because he “told (Estabrook) that he was bad,” Diaz said. “He didn’t use those words, but he used some words to get ejected, so he got ejected.”
While Buehler said he wasn’t going to talk about what Estabrook “did or didn’t do,” saying, “I don’t think it’s my place,” Cora carefully commented on the umpire’s behavior.
“I don’t want to make excuses, but it looked like it was very aggressive,” the manager said, “but he’s the umpire. We have to respect that.”
Tuesday was Buehler’s second career ejection. The first also came against the Mets on Aug. 20, 2021, back when the righty was with the Los Angeles Dodgers.
“I’ve been in this league too long for that to happen,” Buehler said. “I think for me, personally, it’s one of those things that, like, you’re very conflicted, right? You feel very convicted in what I felt and saw, but at the same time this is a team game and something I kind of let get out of hand.”
Cora has now been tossed 18 times since his managerial career began on Opening Day 2018. It’s his first ejection of the season. (Last was Sept. 22, 2024.)
“I know a lot of people get on me because I don’t get thrown out,” Cora said, “but (Dave Dombrowski) told me after Game 1 of the (2018) ALCS, ‘You get paid to be in the dugout, not in the office.’ … And I learned my lesson from Dave, and I try to be in the dugout as much as possible.”
But a win is a win is a win.
“I think this, you know, hopefully, is some sort of turning point for us,” Buehler said. “The series, not me personally, but next start I hope I can get a little bit deeper.”
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