Benches clear in Pirates-Yankees game after Santana shouts at Caballero - Yahoo Sports

What the report says

NBCSports.com, carrying an Associated Press report, said a confrontation broke out during Monday night’s Pittsburgh Pirates-New York Yankees game in New York after Pirates reliever Dennis Santana shouted at Yankees infielder José Caballero. The incident followed Caballero’s inning-ending double play in the eighth inning of the Yankees’ 8-5 win.

According to the AP report, Santana said afterward that he was upset because Caballero was taking too long to be ready in the batter’s box. After the play, Santana gestured and yelled toward Caballero, prompting both benches and bullpens to empty. Teammates Rafael Flores and Bryan Reynolds held Santana back, and the situation settled after several minutes. The report said there were no punches and no ejections.

The exchange centered on Caballero’s habit of using the pitch clock to his advantage. Since MLB introduced the pitch clock in 2023, hitters must be in the box and looking toward the pitcher with eight seconds left. Caballero said he had just grounded into a double play and was surprised Santana was yelling at him. He also argued that players should know the rule by now and should not blame him for operating within it.

The AP noted that Caballero’s slow timing in the box has drawn attention before, including a warning during a June 14 game in Toronto and an earlier episode involving Gerrit Cole when Caballero was a rookie with Seattle. Pirates manager Don Kelly described Santana as frustrated and said he was relieved the flare-up did not become more serious.