Walker Buehler pitched well in his May 20th start against the New York Mets, his first in nearly a month. The righty posted 2.1 scoreless innings with four strikeouts, but he thought it should've been five.
Buehler fired a clear strike by Juan Soto, but Boston Red Sox catcher Carlos Narváez leaped up to attempt to catch a stealing runner while he did so. Not only did he not catch Francisco Lindor stealing second base, but he also blocked umpire Mike Estabrook's view of the pitch. He called Buehler's pitch a ball, to which he loudly and colorfully objected.
Buehler attested that his pitch was "right down the f------ middle," and Estabrook didn't take kindly to his language. He tossed the pitcher, which sent manager Alex Cora tearing out of Boston's dugout. He tried to stick up for Buehler, which also resulted in his ejection.
Red Sox bench coach Ramón Vázquez was left to manage his second-straight game. Cora missed Boston's series opener against the Mets to attend his daughter's college graduation. Before the game, Vázquez joked with NESN's Jahmai Webster that he always needs to be ready to manage, just in case Cora gets tossed. He may have spoken his managerial job into existence.
Red Sox Walker Buehler, Alex Cora ejected after Buehler argued with umpire against Mets
There is rarely a good time for a pitcher to be ejected, but in the third inning, in the middle of a series, isn't one of the few. The Red Sox are now forced to stretch the bullpen and Sean Newcomb, their go-to long relief option, is unavailable after a 4.2-inning outing against the Braves on May 18, in relief of Brayan Bello.
After Bello's short, 4.1-inning start, Cora called for his rotation to step up their game. Boston's rotation has a 4.40 ERA as a group, including Garrett Crochet's 2.00 metric. Red Sox relievers had thrown 176 innings over 49 games at the time of Buehler's ejection, the ninth-most in MLB. They've also blown a league-leading 11 saves.
The Red Sox needed Buehler to come back from the injured list and act like the veteran in the room. Since he was fresh off the IL, Boston probably wasn't going to get six or seven innings out of him, but the bullpen needs as much help as it can get from the rotation. The pitch Buehler was ejected over should have been called a strike, but the Red Sox should be able to rely on their veterans to keep their heads on straight in difficult moments.