Astros pitcher confronts Angels shortstop after hitting him with pitch, sparking bench-clearing scene
After Houston Astros starting pitcher Hunter Brown hit Los Angeles Angels’ shortstop Zach Neto with a pitch, tempers flared in the third inning of the Astros' 3-2 extra-innings win Friday night at Angel Stadium.
The Astros were up 2-0 in the bottom of the third inning with a runner on second base and Neto up to bat.
Brown was up 0-1 in the count, and Brown's 95 mph sinker ran in on Neto, hitting the Angels shortstop in the hand. Neto took exception and immediately turned toward Brown and started yelling.
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Brown did not back down from Neto and started walking toward Neto and barking at the Angels shortstop as the home plate umpire stepped in front of Neto to try and defuse the situation. As Brown started toward Neto, both teams’ dugouts and bullpens emptied to join the fray.
Astros catcher Yainer Diaz held Brown back as the benches emptied. As Brown was being pulled away from the pile, he continued to yell toward Angels players who came off the bench.
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Order was eventually restored. There were no punches or ejections, and the game carried on.
Neto remained in the game after being hit by the pitch.
Brown ended up with a no-decision in the game after pitching five innings and yielding just one run on two hits. He struck out four batters.
The Astros scored the winning run on a wild pitch in the 10th inning. The Astros’ Mauricio Dubón scored on a pitch thrown behind Astros’ third baseman Isaac Paredes.
The Astros (44-32) and Angels (36-39) play again at 9:38 p.m. ET Saturday.
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