DETROIT (AP) — The benches cleared during the fourth inning of a game between the Detroit Tigers and Boston Red Sox on Tuesday night, though no punches were thrown.
The Red Sox led 8-2 after three innings before Willson Contreras and Wilyer Abreu led off the fourth with long home runs.
Tigers pitcher Framber Valdez then hit Trevor Story with a 94-mph fastball on the next pitch. Story stared at the mound while Tigers catcher Dillon Dingler and plate umpire Adam Beck got between he and Valdez.
Story said he believed he was hit intentionally, adding, “It’s pretty undisputable.”
“I was in there ready to hit and it showed up way behind me and off the numbers,” Story said. “We all know what’s what.”
Story’s reaction to the pitch caused both benches to empty and the bullpens to eventually come onto the field. No one seemed particularly angry, but everyone stood around for a few minutes before returning to the dugouts and bullpens.
“We handled it. We said what we said on the field and that’s where it stays,” Story said.
“Those are my guys, and it means a lot to me,” he added, referring to teammates rushing onto the field. “We spend a lot of time together, and it is always good to see they have your back.”
As Red Sox players returned to the dugout and bull pen, umpires conferred briefly before Valdez was ejected by third base umpire Dan Iassogna. That ended a night that saw Valdez allow 10 runs — seven earned — in three-plus innings.
“It was not intentional,” Valdez said through an interpreter. “It might look like it, but it wasn’t. I was trying to throw strikes after the two consecutive home runs. I was trying to go back in the zone and that pitch came out of my hand.”
Red Sox interim manager Chad Tracy didn’t buy it, calling it “weak,” and Valdez’s own manager wasn’t taking his side, either.
“We play a really good brand of baseball here, but that didn’t feel like it,” said A.J. Hinch, who spoke to an obviously angry Contreras while everyone was on the field. “When you go out on the field and end up in those confrontations, you usually feel like you are in the right.
“It didn’t feel good being out there this time.”
A suspension for Valdez would be damaging for the Tigers, who are down to three healthy starting pitchers with Tarik Skubal (elbow), Casey Mize (hamstring) and Justin Verlander (hip) all on the injured list.
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