The Middletown Press (Middletown, CT)
Sox-Yanks brawl proves the rivalry is back
BOSTON — David Price, who had entered this crazy April night as the hottest pitcher in baseball, left after one inning with what he called a “tingling sensation” in his pitching hand.
That tingling sensation would run down a left hand, up a right hand, down backbones in both dugouts and eventually all through 32,400 fans at Fenway Park.
And when it was over, after the benches had emptied twice, after the coldest hitter in the majors heated up big time, after Joe Kelly and Tyler Austin had punched their way into the legend of these two storied sports franchises … yes, we could say it.
The rivalry is back. Thank the baseball gods. The rivalry is back. Now throw up some more bricks atop the great wall dividing the MunsonNixon line in Connecticut. Because judging by the ferocity and frequency of the “Yankees Suck!” chants at Fenway on Wednesday night, 2018 is in for a wild ride.
It’s almost impossible to know where to begin and where to end with nights like this. So let’s start with the final score: Yankees 10, Red Sox 7.
Price hadn’t allowed a run in either of his appearances this April. In fact, including the 2017 season, he hadn’t allowed a run in 29 1⁄3innings since
coming off the DL last September. He had become the first major league pitcher in the past 100 years to begin a season with consecutive sevenplus scoreless and throwing fewer than 95 pitches in each game.
Gary Sanchez, meanwhile, had been the coldest hitter in the game. When Sanchez walked to the plate with one out in the top of the first, he was hitting .056. Yes, 2-for-36, the bottom of the MLB barrel. Price had upped his percentage of cutters from 20 percent to 35 percent this April to considerable success. Yet after Giancarlo Stanton hit a massive two-run triple off a Price fastball, Sanchez picked on one of those Price cutters and drove it for a two-run homer the National Car Rental sign above the Monster seats.
By the time it was over, Sanchez had hit two homers for the eighth time in his career, finished 3-for-5 and driven in four runs. Price, meanwhile, said he never had any feeling in his fingertips in the cold and threw only 16 strikes among 35 pitches. He believes he’s OK.
“I had no [arm] pain,” Price said. “I have no pain.”
He did have that tingling sensation. And judging by the emotion buzzing through both clubhouses afterward, so did a number of others.
It started in the third inning when Tyler Wade bunted toward third base and Rafael Devers threw to Brock Holt at second for the force out. Austin came in hard to ensure there’d be no double play. He also came in a little late. He also came in a little high with his leg. Spikes up. Emotions up. “It was a hard slide into second base,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said. “There was nothing remotely dirty about that.”
“I felt my slide into second base was a clean slide,” Austin said. “I play the game hard.”
Holt didn’t agree. They jawed.
“He said I hit his leg,” Austin said.
“It just wanted him to know it was a bad slide,” Holt said. “I think everyone on the field knows that it was. I got spiked pretty good. I think he knows that now too. I probably said something I shouldn’t have to start it off, so I apologize for that.”
Benches quickly emptied. No violence ensued. After the way Chase Utley broke up a play at second base, injuring Ruben Tejada in the 2015 postseason, MLB changed the rules on what is an acceptable slide. It’s also a non-reviewable play and so the call on the field that it wasn’t interference stood.
“I wasn’t trying to hurt anybody,” Austin said.
“He over-slid it and spikes were up,” Red Sox manager Alex Cora said. “Different rules now versus back in the day.”
If you thought it was over, well, let’s just say the rivalry is back.
In the seventh inning, reliever Joe Kelly buzzed Austin inside with one pitch. Then Kelly hit Austin with a 98 mph fastball headed for his back. Austin said it clipped his elbow. Austin was enraged. He slammed bat into the ground.
He started to walk toward the mound and threw his helmet down, too. Kelly yelled something at Austin. If we’re reading lips correctly, it was something like, “Let’s go.” Austin charged. Catcher Christian Vazquez tried to corral Austin from behind. He landed on the ground. Kelly threw some punches. Then everybody charged into the pile. Chaos ensued.
“I was ready to defend myself,” Kelly told reporters. “If someone comes on your property, in your back yard, I have two dogs. If you come on my property and I feel like I’m getting attacked, then I have to defend myself.”
I can’t account for every punch, but the one that seemed to land the hardest was an out of control Austin hitting third base coach Carlos Febles in the head. And good grief, Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton moved Kelly and entire pile of bodies like they were All-Pro NFL tackles.
“Just protecting my guys,” Judge said.
Holt, meanwhile, said he saw Judge and Stanton rushing in and stayed out of the brawl. “They’re big,” Holt said. Kelly, of course, said he didn’t throw at Austin on purpose.
“I threw a pitch inside,” Kelly said. “It was one of those that got away.”
Nobody’s guilty. Nobody’s ever guilty.
“I felt like it was intentional,” Austin said. “I didn’t want to let anyone push myself around.”
“Tyler Austin was playing the game clean, the right way until [Kelly] decides to fire one at him at [98],” Boone said. “You never know how you’re going to reaction to a situation. I have no issue with that.”
Machine Gun Kelly daring Austin to charge the mound, firing some punches at the prone Yankee — even if he didn’t connect cleanly — having his shirt ripped open, he’s suddenly the darling of Boston.
“There was no reason for fisticuffs to have to happen based on that slide into second base,” Yankees general manager Brian Cashman said.
And after everybody from the MLB office on down expresses outrage and some suspensions are handed out, they’ll quietly go into a corner and love what happened.
Jason Varitek giving A-Rod a catcher mitt facial.
Pedro throwing down Don Zimmer.
Munson and Fisk going at it.
Bill Lee’s shoulder getting unglued.
“Four-hour game,” Holt said. “A couple of brawls. Typical Red Sox-Yankees. We’re right on track.” Yes, we are.
The rivalry is back. Build the wall higher in Connecticut.