Stephen Strasburg isn’t scheduled to pitch until Friday, but on Thursday he was part of the action.

The right-hander was ejected in the bottom of the third inning of the Nationals' 8-2 loss to the Mets at Citi Field for arguing a ball -- from the stands.

“He got thrown out as a fan,” said manager Dave Martinez, who initially thought he had been the one ejected. “I love Stephen. I can’t tell you what he said, but I love him.”

With two outs and the bases loaded, Strasburg didn’t agree when home-plate umpire Carlos Torres called two balls from starting pitcher Austin Voth to Pete Alonso, which made it a full count. Strasburg loudly vocalized his opinion and was tossed shortly thereafter.

On the following pitch, Voth fanned Alonso on a called third strike.

“It makes me feel good,” Voth said. “Just knowing that he has my back and knowing that he’s watching me pitch and got eyes on the umpire to see how the game’s going and whatnot and he’s fighting for me, that’s great. That’s what I want.” 

Strasburg is not the first player to be ejected as a spectator this season. Pirates left-hander Derek Holland was thrown out from the lower-level seats at Busch Stadium on July 26.