In a surprising event on Sunday, Atlanta Braves pitcher Chris Sale was ejected by umpire Dan Merzel before the game against the New York Yankees even began. The ejection occurred a day after Sale was cited for a balk that allowed a run during a game.

As the umpires came onto the field and neared the Braves’ dugout, located on the third base side, Sale began to voice his displeasure. Merzel responded by ejecting Sale. Sale then communicated with crew chief Dan Bellino near the dugout rail.

The previous day, Merzel called Sale for his third career balk in the fifth inning of a 5-4 loss. The call allowed rookie Spencer Jones to score after hitting an RBI triple. Sale had expressed strong objections to the call and was vocally upset with Merzel. Braves manager Walt Weiss took over the argument, leading to his own ejection.

After the game, Bellino explained that the balk was called because Sale did not announce he was pitching from the windup. Bellino noted that Sale did announce the windup during the strikeout of José Caballero but failed to do so before facing Austin Wells.

This marks Sale’s fourth career ejection, the most recent occurring on August 3, 2019, when playing for Boston. During that game, he was also ejected for disputing balls and strikes called by Mike Estabrook.

In the Saturday game prior to his ejection, Sale gave up three runs on five hits over six innings, marking his first loss since June 28. Sale is in his third season with the Braves and holds a record of 12-7 with a 2.20 ERA across 21 starts.