Why was Chris Sale yelling at the umpire? Controversial call leads to fiery exchange from Red Sox pitcher

The friction between players and umpires continued on Thursday with Boston Red Sox starter Chris Sale giving the home plate ump a piece of his mind following two straight balls. The veteran pitcher was visually annoyed and upset with umpire Mark Wegner's pitch calling during the bottom of the fifth inning of Thursday's game against the Washington Nationals.

With a runner on first base and no outs, Chris Sale was tasked with avoiding a jam early in the bottom half of the inning. During Jeter Downs' at-bat, the strikezone eluded Sale, something that the veteran pitcher disagreed with, letting the Wegner know his true feelings.

"Chris Sale yells at the ump. He ended up walking the hitter and just got taken out with with two on and one out" - @TalkinBaseball_

The arguing from Sale ultimately proved to be unhelpful as he ended up walking Downs to end the at-bat. Jeter Downs went on to score in the inning thanks to a two-run double by Nationals slugger Joey Meneses. Sale's game came to a close soon after, finishing his day after 4.1 innings with two earned runs, three strikeouts, and three walks.

Sale's performance on Thursday was average at best, which has been the story of his 2023 regular season so far. Through 63.2 innings this year with the Boston Red Sox, the seven-time All-Star has posted a 5-2 record with a mediocre 4.52 ERA and 78 strikeouts.

Chris Sale's outburst on Thursday is the latest in a growing frustration with umpires across the league

It's been a difficult season for umpires across the MLB, as any error seems to be magnified more than ever. One of the most notorious foes of MLB umpires this season has been Washington Nationals manager Davey Martinez, who has been ejected several times this year.

During a June matchup between the Washington Nationals and Arizona Diamondbacks, a dramatic Davey Martinez was ejected from the game after arguing with the umpire's strikezone.

"Davey Martinez just had the ejection of the year for the Nationals" - @Ryanclary11

Knowing all well that the argument would lead to his ejection from the game, Martinez chose to get his money's worth in a rather animated fashion. The 58-year-old strongly voiced his displeasure in home plate umpire Doug Eddings' face before fanning the strikezone and laying flat on the ground behind home plate.