Jeff McNeil stepped in to face Jacob deGrom in a tense matchup filled with mind games and a little chaos. deGrom started with a high fastball, followed by a slider that perfectly tunneled off the first pitch, fooling McNeil with sharp movement. The sequence kept building with a mix of high and low pitches, slowly setting up deGrom’s plan. Meanwhile, a fan caught a foul ball in the stands and sparked a surprisingly smooth mirror-image high five, which drew attention as much for its execution as the play itself. A young fan behind home plate managed to get a ball from the dugout in the middle of it all.
Back at the plate, the count ran full. deGrom shook off a few signs before seemingly agreeing on a fastball at the bottom of the zone. On the swing, McNeil followed through and accidentally smacked the catcher in the head with his bat but shrugged it off with a quick smile. Then came the 3-2 pitch, which caught enough of the zone for a called strike three. McNeil erupted in disbelief, yelling “No way” in a way that drew comedy comparisons more than sympathy. He didn’t realize he’d been ejected until he got to the dugout and was informed by his teammates. His face dropped in surprise, eyebrows raised in shock, while the umpire calmly adjusted his gear and returned to his stance.
The strike wasn’t wildly off—replays suggested the pitch clipped the bottom of the zone. McNeil’s reaction, while dramatic, wasn’t entirely unjustified. But the immediate helmet and bat toss sealed his ejection. The ump wasted no time, calling him out right away before walking off coolly. It wasn’t the wildest ejection scene, but it had the right mix of pitch sequencing, fan moments, and dugout confusion to make it memorable.