TORONTO – Tempers ran high Wednesday between the Red Sox and Blue Jays at the start of the series finale at Rogers Center when both dugouts and bullpens emptied.
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Red Sox starter Nick Pivetta hit Alejandro Kirk with a fastball. At first, the pitch did not seem very controversial, but the boos soon began to descend from the stands. The Toronto crowd obviously wanted to defend their catcher, one of their favorite players and the leader of the All-Star vote among the AL teams.
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However, it quickly became clear that the situation was beginning to escalate.
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Vladimir Guerrero Jr. was in the middle of it all, talking to Pivetta from the dugout. Guerrero never backed down, and when he decided to jump the cave fence and start walking onto the grounds, everyone followed him.
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Pitchers in the Blue Jays bullpen began to run, led by newly acquired Sergio Romo, while Boston’s bullpen didn’t take much longer. Some players had to be held, including Rafael Devers, but the altercation was more of a conversation than a fight.
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Puerto Rican Charlie Montoyo, manager of Toronto, was also involved in the situation. He first went to see how Kirk was doing and then talked to the referees and some members of the Red Sox. Both dugouts were warned by the umpires.
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