Orioles, Blue Jays involved in benches-clearing altercation

Orioles

Orioles, Blue Jays involved in benches-clearing altercation

Things got heated at Camden Yards.

The Baltimore Orioles and Toronto Blue Jays benches cleared mid-game on Saturday after visiting pitcher Alek Manoah clocked Orioles batter Maikel Franco. It wasn’t quite a brawl, since no punches were thrown and the overall tone of the altercation was somewhat muted, but still a tense moment nonetheless. Take a look:

Manoah was ejected from the game after the hit by pitch. His day was already bad, though, as earlier in the game the righty conceded two consecutive Orioles homers. Rookie Ryan Mountcastle (who ended up hitting three dingers on the day), and D.J. Stewart were the lucky batters in the bottom of the fourth inning before Franco’s ill-fated at-bat. Perhaps Manoah’s temper flared in part due to the scorching Baltimore offense. Was his hitting of Franco intentional? You be the judge.

Young Blue Jays sensation Vladimir Guerrero Jr. was involved in the altercation in a different kind of way. As the opposing teams were angrily gathered at the diamond, Guerrero tried to calm tension by carrying, dare I say manhandling, Orioles shortstop Freddie Galvis away from the scene. Check it out:

Not great, Bob.

The O’s won the first game of the weekend series on Friday 7-1 before Saturday’s melee. Toronto will face Baltimore again on Sunday before the two teams reunite up north for another weekend series beginning next Thursday. Maybe the cool Canadian air will bring a sense of amicability between the two heated rivals.