John Schneider Blue Jays ejection follows balk in Dodgers rematch

The Toronto Blue Jays weren’t enjoying their World Series rematch with the Los Angeles Dodgers on Tuesday night, and one balk call snapped the game open. Kevin Gausman was called for a balk, and John Schneider was ejected moments later after storming out of the dugout.

The simple thing that happened is that Gausman was called for a balk. In this case, the home plate umpire determined that Gausman hadn’t paused long enough, and Schneider came out with one thing on his mind — he went ballistic, was quickly tossed, and kept the heat coming.

The call mattered because it did more than move a runner. The runner on first advanced to second on the balk, then soon scored on a single to put the Dodgers up 3-0. That made the play part of the night’s first real swing, and it came in a game Toronto had already entered with the spotlight on it because of the rematch setting.

Gausman’s delivery with runners on base is unusual. He pumps his left leg three or four times when he comes set, and the replay did not look that different than usual, though it was a bit quick from Gausman on this pitch. That helped fuel the reaction, especially if Schneider was already frustrated by the series against the Dodgers and by previous calls in Tuesday’s game.

The ejection left Toronto without its manager in a game that had already turned tense, and the balk turned into an early scoreboard problem the Blue Jays could not ignore. The larger question now is not whether Schneider was upset — he clearly was — but whether Toronto can settle down fast enough in a game that already felt like more than a routine matchup.