The Tampa Bay Rays cannot stay out of the fights this MLB season.
After opening the season with a matchup against the Blue Jays in week one, the Rays faced an opponent once again.
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This time, tempers flared when the Rays visited the Brewers in Milwaukee.
The Rays were down 8-2 in the eighth inning when Tampa Bay center fielder Jose Siri was struck out.
As he ran to first, Siri was applauded by Brewers pitcher Abner Uribe, causing them to get into a verbal altercation.
Before anyone could blink, Uribe threw a punch at Siri that hit him and left him staggering.
Siri tried to hit Uribe, but missed and almost punched first base umpire Alex MacKay, who was trying to stop the fight.
Brewers first baseman Rhys Hoskins jumped into the fight to try to separate the players, but was run over by Uribe, who was intent on attacking Siri.
Both benches were quickly cleared as Brewers and Rays players ran to support their teammates.
After a few more punches, Uribe and Siri were carried back to their shelters by their teammates to end the fight.
Uribe and Siri were expelled from the game.
The fight dates back to an incident earlier in the game, where Brewers manager Pat Murphy and pitcher Freddy Peralta were ejected from the game in the sixth inning.
Siri had already hit a home run off Peralta in the third inning that hit 462 feet.
In his next at-bat, in the sixth inning, Siri had a 3-0 count before Peralta hit him in the thigh with a fastball.
The referees ruled the throw intentional and ejected Peralta, and later ejected Murphy when he challenged the call.
“I wasn’t trying to hit him, but the home plate umpire said, ‘Hey, Freddy, you’re out.’ I was very angry, but I didn’t say anything because I didn’t want to make things worse,” Peralta said after the game.
“I was already out. I don’t know why they took me out of the game like that.”
Peralta pitched 5.1 innings, allowing just one hit and two runs with seven strikeouts up to the point of his ejection. He threw just 61 pitches.
Five Major MLB Rule Changes in 2024
1. Pitch time is reduced from 20 to 18 seconds with runners on base – will remain at 15 seconds with the bases empty.
2. When a pitching change is made, the inning clock will reset to 2:00 instead of 2:15 as happened last year.
3. Teams will only be able to visit four mounds per game in 2024, compared to five last season.
4. Fielders and fielders who block bases will be cited for obstruction by the umpires.
5. The runners’ lane from home plate to first base has been widened to include the dirt between the grass and the white line.
Most likely, Peralta did not intentionally hit Siri, but was kicked out of the game anyway.
Uribe’s incident with Siri seemed like a boiling over of emotions as the pitcher tried to defend his teammate.
“All I can say is I’m glad no one was seriously hurt,” Murphy said.
“There is a lot of emotion in the game. I guess the way the game ended [Monday] night, there was a lot of emotion.
“I think it lends itself to more emotion.”
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This story originally appeared on The-sun.com read the full story
