The Chicago White Sox were looking for a win in the third game to secure the series against the Cincinnati Reds on Thursday, and maybe somewhere in trying to build that momentum two of Davis Martin’s pitches landed extremely close to the opponent’s head. One even struck his helmet. The outcome, you may ask? Yeah, it was a familiar one.

“Hey! That’s twice at my head,” Stewart said, pointing at Martin, as per the clip shared by Jomboy Media on X. 

The Reds were up 3-0 in the top of the first inning thanks to a solo homer by Stewart and a 2-run home run by Eugenio Suárez. The White Sox just put up one run on the board in the 1st but came back stronger in the second to make it 4-3. Then came the third inning and Martin started with a hit by pitch, but his second one sailed over Stewart’s head, and the batter ducked to avoid any collision. The first baseman appeared unhappy, and he looked at the pitcher as if asking, ‘What was that?’

Martin apologized, and Stewart was seen giving a thumbs-up immediately. 

The next pitch, though, was even closer to his head. He tried to move away from the path of the 92-mph fastball. While Stewart was not hurt, it hit his helmet, which flew away from his head. The batter pointed his bat at the 29-year-old pitcher with frustration on his face. He held two fingers and then pointed towards his head. His teammates saw him advancing towards the mound and, anticipating a heated confrontation, they emptied the dugout.

Suárez was the most vocal one, with his hands spread on either side and walking towards the diamond. The White Sox players did the same while umpire Alan Porter tried to calm both parties with his palms pointed towards them. Sal turned away from the pitcher, but the teams were already on the field. 

Luckily, there was no escalation, but Porter eventually ejected Davis Martin. Will Venable was having a chat with the umpire, and the broadcast booth assumed he was making a plea for his starter. Martin didn’t receive a warning after his first wild pitch, but the announcers argued that when a pitcher is struggling that much with his throws and came close t0 hitting a player in the head, he shouldn’t be on the mound.

“You kind of black out a bit when they go up at your head,” Stewart said after the game. “It happens. I know he apologized after the first one, and things happen. Maybe it slipped. But then the very next pitch came right back at my face. More than anything, it was just a scary moment.”

Notably, Martin developed a blister on the middle finger of his throwing arm. It might have been the reason his grip slipped. The right-hander made it clear after that game that it was not intentional. And while both parties chose not to escalate things, Stewart made his bat deliver the response. 

Sal Stewart turned a scary moment into a huge offensive night

It was declared a hit by pitch, and Sal advanced to first. Shortly after, he made it home when Suárez hit a sacrifice fly. Stewart went 2-for-3 in this game and scored 4 runs for his team. The Reds were leading 9-5 by the end of the 6th inning. Chicago tried to spark a comeback with a 2-run single from Andrew Benintendi in the 8th and a 1-RBI single from Edgar Quero in the 9th. But they fell short by one run as the Reds clinched the game 9-8 and won the series. 

The ejection made things a bit difficult for the White Sox as they had to send Erick Fedde on the mound. He allowed 5 hits and 4 runs over 3.0 innings. 

The loss didn’t change much for the White Sox as they are still atop the AL Central with a 62-58 record, and they happen to be the only team in the division with an above .500 record. Meanwhile, the Reds are still 4th in the NL Central. They are 58-62, with 5.0 games behind the WildCard race. 

While the wild pitch was scary for the batter, it quickly moved away from the spotlight. But it was still a significant moment.

“I wanted to attack the zone and get us back in the dugout,” he said after the game. “But trying to be on my best behavior, knowing that I’m trying to stay in that game as well. I don’t want to do anything dumb to put my team in a bad position. That happened regardless.”

Martin has a reputation for holding his composure. That’s why the ejection, particularly without a warning, makes it a bit unusual. But both Martin and the Chicago White Sox will look past that and keep focusing on the upcoming games.