BOSTON — Walker Buehler was cruising along in his return to the Red Sox rotation Tuesday — until it came to an abrupt end. With one out in the third inning, a brief argument with home plate umpire Mike Estabrook over a 2-0 pitch to Juan Soto instantly turned into the second ejection of Buehler’s career.
Estabrook tossed Buehler after a brief back-and-forth, then also told manager Alex Cora to hit the showers after Cora ran out onto the field in an attempt to calm things down. Suddenly, with 20 outs left to get, the Red Sox were down their starter.
“I was inside and they showed a replay in the fourth inning because they had that camera,” said Cora. “I don’t want to make excuses, but it looked like it was very aggressive. But he’s the umpire, we have to respect that and he threw him out.
“It was weird. They were going back-and-forth. I don’t know what the exchange was. I’ve been doing this for a few years. I was just begging, ‘Give me a break. I’ll go out and you can throw me out. We can keep the pitcher in the game.’ I guess he had enough. I don’t know why. At that point, I’ve got to go, too.”
Buehler’s 52nd and final pitch of the night was a fastball to Soto that was clearly in the strike zone, though Estabrook got a somewhat unique look at it because Carlos Narváez caught it while springing to his feet for an unsuccessful attempt to throw out Francisco Lindor, who was trying to steal second after being hit by a pitch. Buehler took immediate issue, with cameras picking up him telling Estabrook that the pitch was “right down the (expletive) middle” more than once. After warning Buehler to get back on the mound, Estabrook tossed him.
“That was so quick,” said Narváez, who later homered in Boston’s 2-0 win. “I ran to the mound trying to get Buehler to calm down a little bit. He was arguing about the pitch. I saw the pitch and it was in the strike zone. I was in motion to throw to second so, probably, the umpire didn’t see really good where it landed. That was quick. I was back and forth. I didn’t have time to do much.”
Estabrook ripped his mask off and walked toward the mound as soon as Buehler started jawing at him. Umpires sometimes give players — and especially starting pitchers — some rope early in games. But the crew at Fenway on Tuesday decided to subscribe to the letter of the law.
“He can say stuff from the mound,” crew chief Laz Diaz explained (to a pool reporter). “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.
“(Buehler) probably thought it was a good pitch. You gotta ask him. He’s arguing balls and strikes coming off the mound. That’s why he got ejected.”
Cora‘s ejection was the 18th of his career — and his first of 2025. He was uncharacteristically animated as he was tossed and was heard on the broadcast pleading with Estabrook to let him make his case before tossing a key player.
“Alex Cora told (Estabrook) that he was bad,” Diaz explained. “He didn’t use those words. But he used some words to get ejected so he got ejected.”
Cora smashed the cover to the Red Sox’ bullpen phone on his way down the tunnel — and “it hurt, too, by the way,” the manager said.
“I learned this in 2018,” said Cora. “I know a lot of people get on me because I don’t get thrown out but the old man (Dave Dombrowski) told me after Game 1 of the ALCS, you get paid to be in the dugout, not in the office.
“I learned my lesson from Dave and I try to be in the dugout as much as possible. I don’t show too much emotion.”
Buehler, who returned from a three-week stint on the injured list after battling bursitis in his pitching shoulder, took a different tack, declining to rip Estabrook and the umpiring crew and instead, expressing regret for his ejection.
“I’ve been in this league too long for that to happen,” Buehler said. “For me personally, it’s one of those things where you’re very conflicted. You feel very convicted in what I felt and saw, but at the same time, this is a team game and something I let get out of hand. Personally, that’s the disappointing part of it.
“I’m not gonna talk about what he did or didn’t do. I don’t think it’s my place… I’m not gonna talk on his side of it. For me, it spiraled a little bit and he said some things 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 in that situation.”
In the end, though, the Red Sox got 20 outs (and 6 ⅔ scoreless innings) from a group of six different relievers and won their second straight over a very good Mets team. For the second straight day, it was bench coach Ramón Vázquez in the handshake line after the final out; he managed Monday’s win with Cora away for his daughter’s graduation.
“I thought yesterday was a good day for us without me so I decided to do it again,” Cora joked.
