Justin Verlander Has Hilarious Reaction to Yankees-Tigers Brawl (Tweet)
- by Grant Boone
- in Sports
- — Aug 26, 2017
Jason Beck with MLB.com reports tensions began when Yankees catcher Gary Sanchez hit his fourth home run of series in the fourth inning.
There was no retaliation by the Tigers starter that night, Michael Fulmer, until two innings later, after Cabrera apparently complained that a measure of baseball justice had to occur - a point Yankees manager Joe Girardi referenced following Thursday's 10-6 Tigers win. Both team's managers were ejected along with Yankees' bench coach Rob Thompson.
Cabrera and Yankees catcher Austin Romine were tossed after a benches-clearing brawl during the sixth inning.
Tigers catcher James McCann was beamed by the Yankees Dellin Betances, in a scary moment that seemingly left the hitter out cold. In the top of the eighth, Tigers pitcher Alex Wilson hit Todd Frazier of the Yankees, causing Frazier to get mad and the benches to clear again.
"I mean, pay attention", said Girardi, who also criticized Torres's command of the strike zone and complained that Ausmus had directed an expletive at Brett Gardner.
The Detroit Tigers and New York Yankees had a game that will most likely go down in the history books. Sanchez had homered off of Fulmer earlier, making it a very suspicious pitch, even if Fulmer did act like he was frustrated that Sanchez had been hit in the waist.
In case you've been living in a mineshaft for the past 18 hours, the Yankees and Tigers engaged in a good old fashioned donnybrook during Thursday's game, and it really was an all-timer.
Both teams racked up so many because the bitterness didn't end with the sixth inning brawl - nor did the unsafe pitches. Cabrera approached the plate and exchanged words with Romine.
When it was all over, eight players and coaches were ejected in an afternoon matchup between the Yankees and Tigers on Thursday in a game highlighted by hit batters and a brawl. The umpires didn't immediately eject Betances, but they did after a conference. They fell to the ground together, with Romine getting in a few punches of his own to the side of Cabrera as both teams emptied onto the field. Benches cleared again, but it was calmer this time around.