The Cleveland Indians and Chicago White Sox played a matinee game on Thursday, and it took no time at all for tempers to flare between the two AL Central rivals.
White Sox shortstop Tim Anderson led off the bottom of the first inning with a single, and outfielder Adam Eaton followed with a base hit to right field. Anderson went first to third on the hit, which resulted in the throw going to third and Eaton trying to take second. Eaton was initially safe when he slid into second, but he was called out after he lost contact with the bag. That’s when the trouble started.
Eaton felt that Cleveland infielder Andres Gimenez shoved him off the bag, which resulted in the out. Eaton jumped up and gave Gimenez a light shove before pleading his case to the umpire. Things escalated from there and both benches cleared, as you can see below:
Tempers flare between the Indians and White Sox and the benches empty after Adam Eaton shoves Andrés Giménez at second base.#OurCLE pic.twitter.com/J6wqVRgHZ8
— Bally Sports Cleveland (@BallySportsCLE) April 15, 2021
Gimenez may have nudged Eaton off the bag with his leg, but you can understand why the umpire missed it or chose not to call it. There was no blatant shove, and it looked like Gimenez bumped Eaton off the bag just by coming out of his crouched position.
The MLB season is young, but this is not the first bench-clearing incident we have seen. Fortunately, the two teams were separated quickly.
