Atlanta Braves pitcher Chris Sale achieved the rare feat of being ejected before the start of a game on Sunday. Not only that, but it was a game he was not even pitching in.
Sale was tossed by umpire Dan Bellino when he started arguing about a controversial balk call that was made in Saturday’s loss to the New York Yankees. Sale had an animated discussion with Bellino about the call while in the dugout, and though it seemed to go fairly smoothly, Bellino turned around and ejected Sale as the umpire crew was walking away.
Chris Sale getting tossed Sunday pic.twitter.com/6nIqEHOnlL
— Chad Bishop (@MrChadBishop) August 9, 2026
It was not clear if Sale kept arguing after Bellino started walking away or whether Bellino had simply had enough. The fact was simply that Sale did not even make it to first pitch of Sunday’s game.
Sale was called for a balk with a runner on third in the fifth inning of a 2-2 game on Saturday. The Braves pitcher was furious with the call and had a rather impressive meltdown (video here), though he managed to avoid an ejection at that point. The call wound up being crucial, as the Yankees went on to a 5-4 victory, though it is entirely possible the run Sale balked in would have scored anyway even without the call.
Obviously, it is possible to get ejected before a game even starts, though it is exceedingly rare. Given Sale’s penchant for losing his temper, it shouldn’t be considered that much of a surprise that he would be the one to manage it.
