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Runge and Carlos Beltran endured a heated argument in the fourth inning of the Mets' 11-0 loss to Seattle. After Jerry Manuel darted from the dugout in Beltran's defense, Runge appeared to chest bump the Mets' skipper, sending both Manuel and Beltran into a rage before ejecting both.

His head down, Runge quickly fled the umpire's locker room, unwilling to explain his actions after the game.

"I've got nothing to say," he said to a few reporters without breaking stride.

The tossing was Manuel's first while at the Mets' helm. He said was just trying to protect his player and that he never planned on being ejected.

"Mr. Runge was kind of baiting Carlos," Manuel said, later adding that Runge showed up Beltran. "So I wanted to go out and see if everything was OK."

"You saw what happened."

Beltran surely did. As did MLB officials, who regularly suspend coaches that instigate physical contact with umpires. Upon returning to the plate, the generally reserved Beltran told Runge that his actions were "weak."

"He came out to challenge me," Beltran said. "I didn't really like that part. ...And after what he did to Jerry, I really got mad after. He really bumped Jerry to get him out of the game."

Manuel vehemently denied initiating contact with Runge.

"I did not step into him," Manuel said. "But I felt that he did step into me. ...That was definitely the case. It wasn't me."

Manuel came back from the dugout to escort Beltran off the field following the exchange. While the coach didn't say if Runge should be disciplined, the center fielder thought he should "because that was just awful."

Tired his team's losing and Willie Randolph's laidback approach, Mets General Manager Omar Minaya last week replaced Randolph with Manuel. The new man in charge, who led the majors in ejections in 2003, looks to be the anti-Randolph -- fiery and aggressive.

The ejection was Manuel's second of the season. The first came while serving as Randolph's bench coach against the Yankees for arguing the ruling of a home run on May 19 on the road.

Neither outburst sparked New York. The Mets couldn't put together any offense afterward. Only Tatis advanced past second following the incident, which may be a bad sign, since the Mariners entered Tuesday night with the league's third-highest ERA (4.66), behind the Rangers (4.94) and the Pirates (5.06).

Manuel may have already been angry before the fourth. By that point, starter Oliver Perez, who earned the loss, had already coughed up five runs. Manuel after the game did not dismiss the notion that Perez's spot in the rotation is in jeopardy.

He also had plenty to say about Runge.

"That wasn't a good thing to be doing," Manuel said. "That didn't seem proper."