NEW YORK (AP) — Benches cleared but no punches were thrown following a shouting match between Yankees pitcher CC Sabathia and Tampa Bay Rays hitter Avisaíl García during a game Tuesday night.
Sabathia struck out García looking to strand two runners in the sixth inning. Sabathia appeared to say something to García as he walked off the mound, and a surprised García looked up and raised his arms. Sabathia kept jawing from a distance and pointed at García, who began yelling back.
Shortstop Didi Gregorius ran in to hold Sabathia back, and both benches and bullpens cleared. Gregorius led a fired-up Sabathia back to the dugout, and both teams dispersed shortly after.
Sabathia was ejected for plunking the Rays’ Jesus Sucre during his last regular season start in 2018 and has had a few salty run-ins with Tampa Bay this season, including when he threw at Austin Meadows three times and shouted insults during a game in May.
The 38-year-old left-hander has also been excellent against Tampa Bay, entering Tuesday with a 2.36 ERA in seven starts against the Rays over the past two seasons. He left after six innings Tuesday with New York trailing 3-2.
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