The fallout from Saturday’s 5-4 Braves loss to the Yankees didn’t stop when the game ended. It carried into the series finale, where Chris Sale made it clear he was still furious about the balk call that helped swing the outcome the night before.
Crew chief Dan Bellino said Sale failed to declare whether he was going to pitch out of the windup, and when a leg twitch was seen, the home plate umpire ruled it a run-scoring balk. Sale and manager Walt Weiss pushed back hard, saying Sale had never once been asked to make that declaration in his 16 years in the league and that the crew overreached by applying the rule so strictly to a hybrid pitcher.
Weiss was tossed after getting his money’s worth, and many figured that would be the end of it. It wasn’t. Sale was still stewing as Sunday’s game was about to begin, and after he voiced his frustration to Bellino, he was ejected from the bench.
The BravesVision broadcast showed Sale making his case today. pic.twitter.com/fYm0O7UZGv https://t.co/tB8TmX791d
- Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) August 9, 2026
Chris Sale just got ejected against the Yankees for expressing his displeasure over balk call from Saturday's game
Bench ejections are rare these days, but Sale made it obvious he wasn’t satisfied with the explanation he got. The ejection was essentially a formality, since there was no chance he was going to pitch on Sunday anyway.
The situation boils down to a rule that exists but is not commonly enforced. If umpires start calling it that way every time, games could get bogged down in a hurry. Bellino was never going to do anything other than back up his call once it was made.
And while Sale doesn’t appear to have any prior issue with Bellino, the home plate umpire does have a history of controversy. A few years ago, Bellino was disciplined and apologized after an interaction with Madison Bumgarner that led to an ejection.
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Sales latest run-in with Merzel gave Atlanta one more flashpoint to absorb in a series that had already featured an umpiring dispute and a manager getting ejected for the first time in his Braves tenure. For Sale, it was the fourth ejection of his career, and it only deepened the sense that this weekend had already moved well beyond the ordinary rhythms of a midseason series. [Read more 🡒]