The Mets were on the right side of a bizarre piece of history Tuesday night.
In the eighth inning of an eventual 6-4 loss to the Marlins at Citi Field, Jeff McNeil singled against Miami lefty Richard Bleier, then came around to score on three balks, all while Pete Alonso was at bat.
Bleier was pitching in his 304th major league game and had never been called for a balk.
He was increasingly irate after each call, made by first-base umpire John Tumpane. Miami manager Don Mattingly stormed out of the dugout after the third balk (which sent McNeil home) and was ejected after arguing with both Tumpane and home-plate umpire Ryan Blakney for several minutes.
Showalter said the league had alerted teams “not too long ago” that there would be a greater emphasis on balks when pitchers did not come to a complete stop.
“We knew it was something they were going to be cracking down on a little harder,” Showalter said. “It’s just one of those things that are in the eye of the beholder.”
Richard Bleier was hit with the first three balks in his career in the eighth inning against the Mets. AP PhotoIt was unclear what prompted the balk calls. Bleier became the first pitcher to be called for three balks in a game since Mike Pelfrey, with the Mets on May 17, 2009.
After he got Alonso to ground out, Bleier continued arguing with the umpires and was tossed.
He became the seventh pitcher in major league history called for three balks in an inning, and the first since Pittsburgh’s Jim Gott in 1988.
