An apparent stare-down was all it took for Blaze Alexander to spark a benches-clearing incident on Friday. Essentially a pitcher’s duel, the rivalry between the AL East rivals, the Boston Red Sox and the Baltimore Orioles, spilled over in the late innings. The crowd at Camden Yards witnessed the two teams turn a routine double play into one of the biggest talking points.
Trailing 1-0 with one out, the Orioles had a chance to make an impact at the bottom of the eighth during Robert Luis Jr.’s at-bat. But Garrett Whitlock got Luis Jr. to ground into an inning-ending 6-4-3 double play. As the Orioles’ batter grounded to shortstop Trevor Story, second baseman Nick Sogard launched Story’s flip to first to record the out. Meanwhile, Alexander slid hard but was put out at second. The inning wrapped up, but Alexander got involved in a war of words with the Red Sox players as he left second base.
“Why are you mad?” the cameras caught Trevor Story asking Alexander, per Jomboy Media on X.
That brief interaction between Alexander, Story, and Sogard caused the benches and bullpens to empty. As the players pushed and shoved each other, Alexander motioned with his hands, encouraging the crowd to make more noise.
After the two teams retreated, the umpires issued warnings but ejected none. Once through with the game, Alexander revealed that he thought he was being stared at by the Red Sox players.
“I thought it was a clean slide into the bag and just getting stared at,” Alexander said, per MLB.com. “I wanted to know why I’m getting stared at.”
Sogard said that his looking back had nothing to do with staring Alexander down.
“I didn’t have a problem with the slide, but we turned the double play. I was just looking back to see how far he went,” Sogard said, per MLB.com. “I don’t know if he liked me looking back. That was pretty much it.”
The Red Sox have been involved in multiple bench-clearing incidents this season. One such incident happened in June while playing against the New York Yankees. At the time, Willson Contreras’ volatile temper added fuel to the fire. The Red Sox 1B took exception to a high and inside pitch from Will Warren and made his displeasure known after drawing a walk. The heated exchange between the two drew the players from the bullpens and benches onto the field. However, it did not escalate beyond a verbal altercation. Manager Aaron Boone called it “ridiculous.”
Coming back, the game continued after the brief delay, and Aroldis Chapman protected Boston’s one-run lead, helping the team to win.
Ranger Suárez and the Red Sox pitchers shut down the Orioles
On Friday, the Red Sox lineup equally struggled to make an impact against Shane Baz. Mickey Gasper’s first-inning solo home run was the only scoring play the Red Sox recorded. They loaded the bases at the top of the first and seventh, but the Orioles pitcher escaped every time.
However, Ranger Suarez and the Red Sox bullpen made sure that Gasper’s homer was enough to lead the team to victory. Suarez took the win, going 7 innings deep, allowing 5 hits while fanning 3. It marked his best start since June 19, when he threw 6.2 scoreless innings against the Seattle Mariners.
“That’s what we’re used to seeing with (Suarez) when he’s right,” interim manager Chad Tracy told The Athletic. “He’s controlling counts. He’s jumping ahead. He’s getting weak contact outs. … He was really, really good.”
Suarez posted a dominant 3.15 ERA in the first half, but he landed on the IL with a strained groin just before the All-Star break. And he has not been the same since he returned to the rotation. The LHP struggled on the mound, posting a 4.58 ERA in his last seven outings. But against the Orioles, he looked like his old, dominant self.
Suarez left the game for Garrett Whitlock and Aroldis Chapman to protect the Red Sox’s 1-0 lead. Whitlock escaped unscathed with an inning-ending double play, leaving the veteran closer at the helm.
Chapman recorded his 32nd save of the season as he quickly fanned the Baltimore hitters. The Red Sox are now 7.5 games behind the Tampa Bay Rays in the AL East.