Bench clearing came out twice in one inning. Between the New York Yankees and the Tampa Bay Rays, a war of nerves over sand dunes reached its climax.
On the 28th (Korean time), the Yankees-Tampa Bay match was held at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida, USA. In the 8th inning of the Tampa Bay offense, lead hitter Randy Arozarena was hit in the side by Yankees pitcher Albert Abreu’s 95.5 mile (153.4 km) sinker on the fifth pitch.
Arozarena, who expressed dissatisfaction by throwing a bat at the moment he was hit, looked at Abreu and spread two fingers. That meant getting hit twice. Arozarena was also hit by Abreu’s ball in the match on May 6th.
As a war of nerves broke out between the two players, players from both teams came out to the ground. There was a brief confrontation with bench clearing, but the situation was settled without a major conflict, and after the game resumed, Arozarena succeeded in stealing 2nd and 3rd base in a row, shaking the Yankees battery.
However, after the third base was stolen, the second bench clearing occurred. As Arozarena and Abreu argued again, a war of nerves was attached, and players from both teams rushed to the ground again. This time, it ended without a physical clash, but it showed how deep the goal of both teams’ emotions was.
According to ‘MLB.com’, Arozarena said after the game, “I think I hit it on purpose. I don’t know why, but they always seem to want to hit me,” he said. “This isn’t the first time. Yandi Diaz was hurt, and Isaac Paredis was hit in the head today.”
Not only Arozarena, but also Tampa Bay players suffered a lot of sand dunes against the Yankees. He has been hit 12 times in 13 games this year. All three key hitters, Arozarena, Diaz, and Paredis, were hit three times. In this game alone, the Tampa Bay batters hit four balls. On the other hand, Yankees hitters had only two dunes this year against Tampa Bay.스포츠토토
On the 26th, the first day of the three-game series, Tampa Bay Diaz missed the game on the 27th and 28th in the aftermath of being hit in the left forearm by Jonathan Roaiciga’s ball. On the 28th, Oslevis Basabe in the 2nd inning, Paredis in the 5th inning, Jonathan Aranda in the 6th inning, and Arozarena in the 8th inning were hit by four. In particular, in the 5th inning, Paredis had a dizzying moment when his helmet was hit by Ian Hamilton’s first pitch 95 mile (152.9 km) sinker. Tampa Bay players had no choice but to react sensitively.
Yankees manager Aaron Boone said, “I understand the dissatisfaction because several Tampa Bay players, including Diaz, were beaten in this series. But it’s not on purpose,” he said. Abreu, who hit Arozarena, said, “I never tried to hit it. He tried to make an explanation, but Arozarena blamed me. He was just trying to make a weak hit by throwing the sinker toward himself well,” he said, regretting it.
Tampa Bay coach Kevin Cash said, “I didn’t try to hit it on purpose, but that doesn’t make the sand dunes any less scary. I hope the players don’t get hit. No player likes to be hit by the ball.”
Meanwhile, the match was won by Tampa Bay 7-4. He won a 2-1 winning series and finished with an 8-5 advantage against the Yankees this year.
