Mets managerCarlos Mendoza was ejected from Saturday's game against the Pittsburgh Pirates in the fourth inning for arguing balls and strikes with home plate umpire Roberto Ortiz.
With one out and New York down 3-1, Brandon Waddell threw a ball inside and off the plate to Adam Frazier for ball one. The pitch was close, but clearly a ball. However, Mendoza's gripe with Ortiz was an inning prior, Ortiz called the exact same pitch a strike against Mark Vientos on a 3-0 count.
With a runner on first, a walk would've put two runners on for Juan Soto. Instead, Vientos ended up lining out to end the inning.
So, when Waddell's pitch wasn't also called a strike, Mendoza voiced his displeasure from the dugout and got rung up. After that, he came firing out from the dugout and gave Ortiz an earful for his inconsistency. It's the first time this season that Mendoza has been tossed from a game.
Bench coach John Gibbons took over the managerial duties after that.
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