Zack Wheeler had some pointed words for the Toronto Blue Jays after David Popkins got ejected during Friday's 5-4 Blue Jays win.
The Phillies ace didn't hold back when asked about the incident that saw Toronto's hitting coach tossed from the dugout.
"They've lost a lot of games over there," Wheeler said. "I'm gonna keep doing what I do. I've been pitching over there forever, and I'm gonna keep doing it. So they're probably trying to pick some things up to complain about."
Popkins was ejected in the fourth inning after repeatedly yelling from the dugout that Wheeler's foot wasn't properly on the pitching rubber.
According to Caleb Joseph on the Blue Jays broadcast, John Schneider had spoken with home plate umpire John Tumpane between innings, likely about that same foot placement.
Tumpane eventually called a timeout amid the escalating discussion, saying, "I don't wanna hear about the rubber anymore," before ejecting Popkins.
Schneider offered a far more measured response afterward.
"Wheeler is an unbelievable pitcher and has been for a long time. I have all the respect in the world for him," Schneider said. "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."
Why the numbers back up an unusually rough outing
Under MLB rules, a pitcher must touch the rubber while beginning his throwing motion, and Wheeler does appear to pitch with his right foot on the front edge, nearly off the mark.
Whether distracted by the back-and-forth or not, Wheeler had one of his weaker outings of the season Friday, taking the loss after allowing four runs on seven hits and a season-high five walks over 5.1 innings.
That's a real outlier for Wheeler, who sits at 10-3 with a 2.69 ERA and 132 strikeouts across 110.1 innings this season, numbers that make him one of the better pitchers in baseball.
It's a bit like a routine traffic stop suddenly becoming the story of someone's entire day, a small rules dispute overshadowing an otherwise dominant season.
Was Toronto's focus on Wheeler's foot placement a legitimate rules concern, or was Schneider simply looking for any edge against one of the league's best pitchers?
Do you think the Blue Jays were right to challenge Zack Wheeler's foot placement on the rubber?
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