UPDATE: Matt Chapman has been suspended for one game and fined for his role in Tuesday night’s altercation. He will appeal the decision.
Tuesday’s game between the San Francisco Giants and the Colorado Rockies sure got off to an interesting start. SF’s leadoff hitter Heliot Ramos blooped a single to center field, then Rafael Devers hit a towering home run to right field off Colorado starter Kyle Freeland. Then everything went crazy.
Freeland seemed to take issue with how long Devers watched the home run. You could argue that Devers wasn’t 100% sure that the ball would stay fair, and that Freeland overreacted a bit; for a guy who had already given up 20 home runs this year, you’d think he would be used to it. But nevertheless, he yelled at Devers, who yelled back, and the benches cleared in a hurry.
Giants third baseman Matt Chapman and shortstop Willy Adames were the first into the scrum, pushing and shoving as the brouhaha threatened to turn into fisticuffs. For their role in this donnybrook, the two were ejected before they even had a chance to pick up the bat. Casey Schmitt pinch-hit for Adames and stayed in at second base, followed by Dominic Smith pinch-hitting for Chapman and staying at third. Devers, who remained in the game, moved to third base.
It’s unlikely that this dust-up results in any further discipline; we will update you on the situation if there are any further consequences.
