Back from IL, Buehler ejected in third inning as Red Sox win

BOSTON — Red Sox right-hander Walker Buehler, activated earlier in the day from the 15-day injured list, was ejected from his Tuesday start against the New York Mets in the third inning for arguing balls and strikes.

After two balls to open an at-bat by Juan Soto, Francisco Lindor stole second. Following Lindor’s slide, Buehler approached plate umpire Mike Estabrook while yelling and pointing. Buehler was quickly ejected, and moments later, Boston manager Alex Cora also was tossed.

It was the second consecutive game that the Red Sox played without Cora. On Monday, he missed the series opener to attend his daughter’s graduation from Boston College. Cora was replaced both nights by bench coach Ramon Vazquez.

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 while continuing to verbally let loose on Estabrook. The manager then finally made his way to the clubhouse to cheers from Boston fans.

“It was weird; they were going back and forth,” Cora said of the debate between Buehler and Estabrook. “I don’t know what the exchange was, but I’ve been at this for a few years, and I was just begging, ‘Just give me a break. I’ll go out and 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.”

Brennan Bernardino replaced Buehler and inherited the count on Soto. Bernardino proceeded to walk Soto on four pitches in a scoreless game. But the bullpen held up the rest of the way, and Vazquez steered the Red Sox to a 2-0 victory.

“Everybody saw what happened. That’s baseball; we just had to stick to the plan,” Red Sox catcher Carlos Narvaez said on the postgame show on NESN.

Buehler had not pitched for the Red Sox since April 26 because of right shoulder issues. After that, he was scratched from his next start, and ensuing tests revealed he had bursitis in the shoulder. The 30-year-old veteran pitched a three-inning simulated game Thursday and indicated he fared well and was ready to return.

“I’m not going to talk about what he did or didn’t do. I don’t think it’s my place,” Buehler said of Estabrook. “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.”

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Although his outing was short, Buehler has now started seven games during his first season with the Red Sox. He entered Tuesday’s game at 4-1 with a 4.28 ERA and 29 strikeouts against nine walks in 33⅔ innings.

“The pitch was in the strike zone,” Narvaez said of the ball call that triggered Buehler’s response in the third. “He was fighting with the guy behind the plate. He was saying, ‘Hey, that was in the middle.’ And the guy was saying, ‘No.’ And it was back and forth. Buehler is an emotional guy, he’s a competitor. It was just the emotions of the game.”

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.”

In the end, the Red Sox won for the second time in as many nights under Vazquez’s tutelage. And they did so with six relievers combining to complete the shutout.

Prior to Tuesday’s contest, Boston optioned right-hander Nick Burdi to Triple-A Worcester in a corresponding move to make room for Buehler. Burdi, 32, made two appearances and pitched 2⅓ scoreless innings for the Red Sox.

A member of the Los Angeles Dodgers organization until signing with Boston as a free agent in December, Buehler has undergone two Tommy John surgeries during his career. The latter procedure, in 2022, caused him to sit out the 2023 season and make his 2024 debut that May.

Buehler last made it through a full season without issue in 2021, when he registered a career-high 33 starts to lead the major leagues that season. He went 16-4 with a 2.47 ERA in 2021 and was selected to the All-Star Game for a second time.

The Dodgers selected Buehler with the 24th pick of the 2015 MLB draft.

Information from Field Level Media and the Associated Press was used in this report.