The ninth inning of the Boston Red Sox 7-5 victory over the San Francisco Giants on Friday was fairly cut and dry. Boston’s star reliever, Aroldis Chapman, came out of the bullpen with a one-run lead. In ten pitches, he fanned both Heliot Ramos and recently departed teammate, Rafael Devers, for two quick outs. Wilmer Flores, representing the Giants’ last spark of hope, popped out on an infield fly. However, as with all baseball stadium fireworks, the show started after the game.
As Flores was heading back towards the dugout, Chapman expressed some frustration with him. Flores turned towards Chapman, the two exchanged words and a small bench-clearing unfolded. You can see the video below:
During the at-bat, Flores had broken eye contact with Chapman. As per the rules, the batter and pitcher need to acknowledge each other before the pitch can be thrown. Chapman waited on Flores, resulting a pitch clock violation charged to him. This appears to have irked Chapman, who had this to say to reporters when asked what he told Flores:
“I told him that what he was doing at home plate wasn’t right. He wasn’t making eye contact with me; he was looking up and down. I told him. I think that he understood what I said and then everybody came out.
“The way that he prepares in the box, he (lifts) his eyes to (the pitcher) and then he looks down. Maybe the umpire doesn’t catch that. And I feel like that’s not OK.”
As for Flores, he didn’t seem to know why Chapman was angry. When asked what the confrontation was about, he said this:
“I don’t know. He said something. I wanted to know what he said. Still don’t know...I tried to ask him if he said something. I asked what was going on.”
No brawl ensued, just heated words and animosity. All in all, it was an entertaining night.
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