Angels, Astros clear benches in wild scene after beaning
Two “strikes” is all Zach Neto was willing to give Hunter Brown.
After Brown, the Astros ace, hit Neto with a pitch in the third inning Friday night for the second time in their respective young careers, the livid Angeles shortstop held up two fingers as he barked at Brown to let him know that it was a repeat offense.
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A heated Brown walked off the mound directly at Neto to let him know that he isn’t going to back down or stop pitching on the inside of the plate.
It was a 95-mile-per-hour sinker that hit Neto between the forearm and wrist.
The dugouts and bullpens emptied and both Neto and Brown had to be held back by their teammates while dropping expletives and pointing at each other.
Brown also had choice words for Angels second baseman Christian Moore.
No punches were thrown, and no ejections were issued.
Cooler heads prevailed and Brown retired Neto on a grounder back to the mound in their third and final matchup of the game, won 3-2 by the Astros.
Brown said there was “no intent” behind the pitch.
“Honestly, he almost swung, so I don’t know what he’s talking about,” Brown told reporters. “(Neto) stands right on top of the plate, doesn’t like when he gets hit, that’s his problem.”
It came on the heels of a heated Padres-Dodgers four-game series with eight hit batsmen.
The Padres won the series finale, which was marred by Fernando Tatis Jr and Shohei Ohtani – stars on opposite sides – getting beaned, benches clearing into a shoving match and both teams’ managers getting ejected.
Padres manager Mike Shildt and Dodgers manager Dave Roberts were suspended one game apiece, and Padres closer Robert Suarez was banned for three games.
The Astros-Angels confrontation was a little lighter, though no one was giving any ground on who was to blame.
“I mean, last year, you’ve just got to flush it,” Neto said. “(Brown) wasn’t trying to do it last year, especially with two strikes. But you go back to the history we have, it’s not the first time he’s done it, and for him to go up and in like that again, enough’s enough.”
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