BOSTON -- Major League Baseball has handed out the discipline following Wednesday night’s fracas between the Red Sox and Yankees.
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Boston relief pitcher Joe Kelly was suspended for [...]
BOSTON -- Major League Baseball has handed out the discipline following Wednesday night’s fracas between the Red Sox and Yankees.
Boston relief pitcher Joe Kelly was suspended for six games and New York infielder/outfielder Tyler Austin was suspended for five games for their central roles in a bench-clearing brawl that broke out in the top of the seventh inning. Both players will appeal.
Austin charged the mound after being hit in the back by a Kelly fastball, part of a wild night at Fenway Park that saw the Yankees square the three-game series thanks to a 10-7 victory. Red Sox manager Alex Cora and players Dustin Pedroia, Xander Bogaerts and Marco Hernandez were each fined an undisclosed amount, along with Yankees pitcher C.C. Sabathia and third base coach Phil Nevin.
“We just keep playing,” Cora said prior to Thursday’s series finale. “Our goal today is to win the series. It’s not to go out there and wait for somebody to hit us or whatever.”
Austin’s slide over the bag on a force play in the third inning set the chain of events in motion, as he caught Boston shortstop Brock Holt on the lower right leg with his spikes. The two men exchanged a few terse words and the benches emptied for the first time, with players and coaching staffs from both teams lingering in the center of the diamond.
“The fact that (Austin is) trying to beat the throw, I don’t buy it,” Cora said. “If you’re trying to beat the throw either you go head first to second or you go straight to the bag. There’s not a double play, because you know (Tyler Wade, who bunted to third base) is running.
“That (Austin) didn’t see Brock? Maybe. But he saw the play. And that’s not a normal play.”
The more venomous showdown took place in the seventh, as Kelly’s 2-1 pitch was a 98 mph bullet that caught Austin squarely. Austin slammed his bat on the ground with his right hand and headed straight for Kelly, with Red Sox catcher Christian Vazquez left in his wake. Kelly landed a couple right hands at the bottom of the pile and Austin nailed Boston third base coach Carlos Febles with a right hand to the temple.
“You’ve got to take care of your team,” Cora said. “Nobody is going to stay there in the dugout and let somebody go out there and punch your pitcher. Everybody’s going to go out.”
Kelly and Austin were immediately ejected and Nevin was tossed a few minutes later after umpires discussed the incident further. Nevin was incensed, heading toward the Boston dugout after Cora waved him away dismissively from a distance.
“After the whole thing, he was screaming at our dugout,” Cora said. “I don’t know if he was screaming specifically at me. I took exception. I don’t want to say I overreacted – that’s not me. For 10 games or whatever I’ve managed, you guys have seen me very calm over there.
“There’s something like a chain of command. If we’re going to let everybody be screaming in situations like that – well, it wasn’t a good situation to begin with, and it can be worse. I don’t manage their team obviously. I manage my team.
“I don’t want any of my coaches to be screaming at (Yankees manager) Aaron Boone or any of their players. And I took exception. I made a signal – I know everybody saw it. Out of character for me, but I didn’t like the fact that he was pointing at me and screaming at me.”
Unlike in Cora’s days as a utility infielder, Holt was forced to hold the bag well after making the catch on the throw from Rafael Devers. Video review has all but eliminated the neighborhood play, the generous region around the bag favored by middle infielders and loosely legislated by umpires prior to the 2014 replay expansion to include force plays, fan interference and more. Securing the first out of the inning set Holt up for contact and the sparked the subsequent events.
“Back in the day, you stretch, and when that ball was getting to your glove you get out of the way,” Cora said. “He’s going to be out. Now, you have to stay on it. So it’s a tough one. It’s a tough one for everybody.”
-- bkoch@providencejournal.com
On Twitter: @BillKoch25