New York Mets manager Carlos Mendoza was ejected from their defeat against the Yankees on Sunday after losing his cool with MLB officials in a stunning meltdown.
When Mets catcher Luis Torrens was struck out in the ninth inning – despite two pitches from Devin Williams appearing to fall outside the strike zone – a livid Mendoza immediately sprinted onto the field to protest the decision.
The Venezuelan erupted at home plate umpire John Bacon, shouting in his face and gesturing furiously while other officials tried to calm him down.
Mendoza, who was also seen kicking the dirt on home plate in anger, was swiftly ejected from the game at Citi Field.
As he made his way back to the clubhouse, the Mets manager received a standing ovation from the home fans in attendance.
In the end his team were beaten 6-4 by city rivals the Yankees in the third and final instalment of this Subway Series, having came out on top in the first two games.
New York Mets manager Carlos Mendoza was ejected from their defeat against the Yankees
And after the defeat Mendoza explained why the red mist descended for him in the bottom of the ninth.
‘It had been building up the whole game,’ he said in his postgame press conference. ‘Can go back to strike two on [Juan] Soto, I think it was the second at bat. It’s not even close to the strike zone.
‘And then especially in that situation [with Torrens], you’re down two and you want to get guys on base and keep the line moving so hopefully Soto and Pete [Alonso] get a chance here, and then you get two calls like that that don’t go your way… it’s just pretty frustrating.’
Aaron Judge hit his 33rd home run and left fielder Cody Bellinger started a pivotal double play as the Yankees stopped a six-game losing streak and avoided a weekend Subway Series sweep against the Mets,
Max Fried (11-2) improved to 9-1 in 12 starts after Yankees losses when Judge staked him to a 5-0 lead with a two-run homer in the fifth off Brandon Waddell, part of the star slugger’s three-RBI day.
The Yankees, who tumbled from the AL East lead by losing 16 of 22 games, had matched their longest losing streak up until Sunday’s win over the Mets. They also stopped their rivals’ four-game winning streak in the process.
Austin Wells homered in the third off Zach Pop (0-1), who made his Mets debut.
