The playoff race is heating up in its final days, and tensions were on the rise at T-Mobile Park between the Mariners and Astros.
As the two American League West rivals battled on Wednesday night in Seattle, Houston reliever Hector Neris whiffed Mariners All-Star Julio Rodriguez in the sixth inning of the Astros’ eventual 8-3 win and then taunted him, leading the benches on both sides to clear.
After three straight splitters, Neris struck out Rodriguez swinging to end the sixth.
But the right-handed hurler wasn’t just satisfied with the inning-ending punchout.
Neris charged toward Rodriguez, who was walking back to the home dugout, and had a few words for the outfielders, though it was unclear what he said.
After the game, Neris played down any negative feelings that might exist between him and Rodríguez.
“He’s my friend,” Neris said. “Just, it’s part of the game.”
The reliever was then prodded toward the third base dugout by first baseman Jose Abreu, but at that point, an angry Rodriguez turned around and walked toward Neris, leading both benches and bullpens to empty.
Rodriguez was seen jawing at Neris even as the righty was back in the dugout.
Rodríguez said he was shocked by the way that Neris acted toward him, team spokesman Adam Gresch said.
Mariners star Julio Rodriguez is held back by teammate Bryan Woo, center, as Dylan Moore, left, looks on as benches clear after Rodriguez struck out Astros relief pitcher Hector Neris. APMariners third baseman Eugenio Suárez was angry about the incident, too, saying that Valdez said some “bad words” in Spanish to Rodríguez.
“That made me so mad, and that’s why I said what I said to them and to him,” Suárez said. “You’ve got to respect people. I play this game in the right way, and I respect everybody. I don’t want to take that, for me, and I let them know that you’ve got to respect our team, too.”
Eventually, Neris, amid all the chaos along the foul line, tried to get back into the fray and seemed to want to talk with Rodriguez, but his Astros teammates grabbed him and shooed him back toward the dugout.
Astros’ Hector Neris reacts after striking out Julio Rodriguez of the Mariners during the sixth inning. Getty ImagesDespite all the jawing and emotion, no punches were thrown amid the charged scene.
It’s understandable why the teams would be extra fired up for this one, as the Astros lead the Mariners by just a half game for the final AL wild card spot.
The strikeout was a bit of redemption for Neris, who hadgivene up two hits — including a homer — in four previous at-bats against Rodriguez.
It was the second bizarre incident in as many days in the Houston-Seattle series, as Mariners pitcher George Kirby was hit by a ball thrown back onto the field by a fan during Tuesday’s game.
— with AP
