Baseball's brawling season was in full swing on Wednesday with two bench-clearing dust-ups on the card: Yankees vs. Red Sox and Rockies vs. Padres. And to think, MLB just introduced new pace-of-play rules to keep games from getting boring.
The New York-Boston game saw tension building between the traditional rivals, inning-by-inning, until it escalated into a massive brawl that got three players and a coach ejected, ESPN reported.
Earlier in the day, Colorado and San Diego threw down in a big brawl after Nolan Arenado charged the mound, Sports Illustrated reported.
The Yankees-Red Sox brawl took the cake.
It all began when the Yankees’ Tyler Austin slid into second and swept the leg of Brock Holt, prompting a confrontation that cleared benches and bullpens. But the situation quickly petered out, SB Nation noted, and play resumed.
Chaos broke out four innings later when a fastball from Red Sox reliever Joe Kelly hit Austin in the back of his left elbow, ESPN said.
The Yankees designated hitter threw down his bat and helmet and charged the mound.
Highlights of the ensuing scuffle included Austin throwing a punch that happened to land on Red Sox third-base coach Carlos Febles and Yankees slugger Giancarlo Stanton getting Kelly in a headlock.
In the end, both Kelly and Austin were ejected along with Yankees third-base coach Phil Nevin and Yankees relief pitcher Tommy Kahnl, according to ESPN.
The Rockies-Padre brawl started with a fastball and ended in several ejections.
According to Denver's KDVR, Padres pitcher Luis Perdomo threw a fastball that sailed behind Rockies third baseman Nolan Arenado, who had to lean way out to avoid it.
Arenado charged the mound, Perdomo threw a glove, Arenado responded with a punch and benches were cleared as the brawl erupted on the field near third base.
Just when the situation seemed diffused, Rockies starter German Marquez tossed a towel towards the Padres, and Rockies outfielder Gerardo Parra appeared to throw a punch, KDVR reported.
Tensions were reignited and Arenado, Marquez, Parra along with Perdomo and Padres catcher A.J. Ellis were all ejected from the game.
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