NEW YORK -- Justin Verlander was called for an automatic ball in the New York Mets' 2-1 loss to Milwaukee on Monday night for throwing his final warmup toss ahead of the third inning with 27 seconds left on the clock, 3 seconds later than allowed.
"He caught me off guard," said Verlander, who appeared to exchange annoyed words with plate umpire Jansen Visconti. "I know that you're supposed to get your last warmup pitch in before 30 seconds. It was right about that time and I was about to throw my pitch and I think he started yelling 'One more' and kind of holding up the one [finger].