Zack Wheeler had some choice words for the Toronto Blue Jays after an odd incident in Friday's outing.
The Philadelphia Phillies ace fired some shots, saying, "They've lost a lot of games over there," when asked about an argument that led to Toronto hitting coach David Popkins getting ejected in a 5-4 Blue Jays win.
“I'm gonna keep doing what I do. I've been pitching over there forever, and I'm gonna keep doing it," Wheeler said when asked about the interaction. "You know, they've lost a lot of games over there, so they're probably trying to pick some things up to complain about.”
Popkins was ejected in the fourth inning of the outing after yelling from the dugout that, from his point of view, Wheeler's foot wasn't properly on the pitching rubber.
According to Caleb Joseph on the Blue Jays broadcast, Toronto manager John Schneider had spoken with home plate umpire John Tumpane between innings, likely about Wheeler's foot placement on the rubber.
Tumpane then made the call to dismiss Popkins as the discussion escalated, calling a timeout then yelling, "I don't wanna hear about the rubber anymore," before removing the Blue Jays hitting coach.
Schneider was asked about the incident post-game and was less pointed in his comments.
"Wheeler is an unbelievable pitcher and has been for a long time. I have all the respect in the world for him and you guys all know how I feel about Don Mattingly," the Blue Jays bench boss explained.
"We were just getting information that his foot was off the rubber … on the first base side from video angles with that little step back from the windup, and I'm just gonna do everything I can to protect my guys."
According to the MLB rulebook, a pitcher must touch the rubber while beginning his throwing motion. However, Wheeler appears to pitch with his right foot on the front edge of the rubber, nearly off the mark.
Distracted by the interactions or not, Wheeler — one of the best pitchers in MLB — had one of his weaker outings of the season on Friday, earning the loss after pitching 5.1 innings while giving up four runs on seven hits and a season-high five walks.
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