A Philadelphia Phillies minor league affiliate was explosive on offense Sunday, but probably not in the way the team intended.
The Triple-A affiliate Lehigh Valley IronPigs got into a bench-clearing brawl with a Yankees affiliate after some emotionally charged moments between the teams.
Per Jomboy Media, it all started after right-hander Luis Gil of the Scranton Wilkes-Barre RailRiders threw too close to the head of recently demoted Phillies infielder Alec Bohm in the fourth inning.
Bohm slammed his bat into the ground in reaction to the pitch. Per The Morning Call, it was the third time in three at-bats a pitch came near his head.
Gil followed this up by getting into stare-down after striking Bohm out, then flexed his muscle after he struck out Phillies prospect Mickey Moniak looking.
The next half-inning, IronPigs pitcher David Paulino hit RailRiders catcher Mike McDowell in the helmet with a 94 mph pitch, and the fight was on.
McDowell tossed his helmet ad Paulino as he charged and the benches quickly cleared. IronPigs catcher Tyler Heineman managed to get there first, saving his pitcher as he wrapped his arms around McDowell and took him to the ground.
Phillies affiliate IronPigs get into brawl with Yankees RailRiders Sunday
The beef started when Luis Gil threw a pitch up and in to Alec Bohm. Gil then struck him out and umpires warned both benches after a stare down. Gil also struck out a Phillies top prospect Mickey Moniak and flexed after doing so pic.twitter.com/wN5SvBkTfv
— Jomboy Media (@JomboyMedia) August 29, 2021
Per The Morning Call, this was the first brawl in the 14-year history of the IronPigs.
Like any baseball brawl, it quickly became more of a casual pushing contest and both teams put in the necessary show.
RailRiders outfielder Greg Allen can be seen sprinting into the picture from stage left but really didn’t have much on his mind as far as action one he arrived.
Heineman can be seen talking with McDowell after the fight.
Paulino and McDowell were the only two players ejected from the game by third base umpire Charlie Ramos.
The IronPigs won the game, 10-5, to improve to 45-55 on the season. Bohm went 1-for-2 with an RBI.
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