BOSTON — In the third inning of his first start back from the injured list, Boston Red Sox starter Walker Buehler was ejected for arguing balls and strikes. The argument came after what appeared to be a missed strike call in an at-bat against the New York Mets’ Juan Soto.
With one out in the third inning, Buehler threw a 1-0 pitch to Soto that looked to be clearly within the strike zone, but it was called a ball by home plate umpire Mike Estabrook.
Sooo…. that was a strike right pic.twitter.com/f2JTofhFFU
— NESN (@NESN) May 20, 2025
Buehler walked off the mound and appeared to say, “Buddy, that was right down the middle, right down the middle.”
Estabrook immediately took exception and pulled his mask off, walking toward the mound and pointing aggressively at Buehler. He appeared to tell Buehler to “get back on the mound” before quickly throwing Buehler out, as catcher Carlos Narváez ran out to intervene.
After Buehler was tossed, manager Alex Cora walked out to the mound and began a heated exchange with Estabrook, who quickly threw him out, too. Cora continued yelling at Estabrook and at one point, crew chief Laz Diaz had to hold Cora back before Cora eventually retired to the dugout. In the dugout, an angry Cora slammed the bullpen phone, breaking the cover. Bench coach Ramón Vázquez took over for Cora as manager, the second night in a row that Vázquez managed the team. Cora missed Monday’s game to be at his daughter’s graduation from Boston College.
The early exit for Buehler will stress an already tired Boston pitching staff. Buehler had been on the IL since May 2 with shoulder bursitis. He’d thrown 52 pitches over 2 1/3 innings, with two walks and four strikeouts before the ejection.
Brennan Bernardino took over for Buehler out of the depleted Red Sox bullpen. After a short start on Sunday from Brayan Bello, long reliever Sean Newcomb threw 79 pitches over 4 2/3 innings in relief. On Monday, starter Hunter Dobbins threw just 4 2/3 innings and the Red Sox needed four relievers to pitch the final 4 1/3 innings in a 3-1 win.
Tuesday marked Buehler’s second career ejection. His first came when he was pitching for the Los Angeles Dodgers on Aug. 20, 2021, also against the Mets. It was Cora’s 18th career ejection as a manager and his first since Sept. 22, 2024, vs. Minnesota.
(Photo: Winslow Townson / Getty Images)