Terry Collins went both screaming and kicking last night.
The Mets manager was ejected for the second time in nine days in last night’s 2-1 walk-off win at Citi Field, and it was as furious as Collins has been — at least publicly — all season.
He was bounced for screaming at second base umpire Adrian Johnson after a disputed call at second base, and Collins also kicked an uprooted first base as he left the field.
VOTE: WHAT WAS THE BEST SUBWAY SERIES MOMENT?
The call came at a crucial spot in the game, with the Mets batting in the sixth inning, trailing 1-0. Ruben Tejada was on second base with two outs, representing the tying run. With Lucas Duda at the plate, Hiroki Kuroda fired to second to try to pick Tejada off.
Tejada dived back into the base, as Yankees shortstop Reid Brignac applied the tag. Initially Johnson called Tejada safe. But Johnson quickly reversed his call, ruling Tejada out to end both the inning and the Mets’ game-tying threat. Though Johnson was initially wrong in calling Tejada safe, he was ultimately right on the out call.
“As I turned on the pickoff, I saw him go for the bag,” Johnson told The Post. “First thing I saw, I saw him reach and make contact.
“I thought it was the bag and I realized it was the foot of Brignac and his other arm hadn’t touched. That’s where the initial safe call [came from] and then I saw that he had not touched and I called him out.”
Collins, though, emerged from the dugout and headed to second base to argue with Johnson. The manager was livid, and Johnson said Collins’ argument was, “The fact that I changed [the call].”
There’s a slight chance Collins could face a suspension for kicking first base, though that’s probably doubtful.
Asked if Collins could be suspended, crew chief Fieldin Culbreth said, “That’ll all go into the report.”
The manager’s ejection stemmed from lingering anger over a blown call the previous night, according to a Mets source.
A night earlier, according to the source, plate umpire Culbreth admitted he blew a strike call with Bobby Parnell on the mound. Parnell threw what should have been strike three to Travis Hafner, ending the game, but Culbreth called a ball.
“[Culbreth] called a ball, but then he said to [catcher] John Buck, ‘Oops, that was really a strike,’ ’’ the source said. “Terry’s point was, the umpires didn’t change that call, but the call at second was changed tonight. There shouldn’t be a difference.”
“You could tell that [Collins] wanted to spark everybody up as well as get the call right,” starter Matt Harvey said. “I think it did [fire up the Mets]. … It fired me up.”
Collins’ other ejection this season was just eight days earlier against the Reds, also at Citi Field but that time with LaTroy Hawkins on the hill. The veteran reliever had complained about a hit by pitch call, and after Hawkins was ejected, Collins argued and was ejected too.
additional reporting by Mike Puma