Hanley Ramirez hit by pitch early, but Yankees and Red Sox stay calm a day after brawl
The insistence from both the Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees that Wednesday’s brawl was behind them was put to the test early a day later. In the first inning of Thursday’s game, Hanley Ramirez took a 93 mph fastball from Sonny Gray to the wrist.
[Still not too late to join a Yahoo Fantasy Baseball league]
After Wednesday’s brouhaha, it was reasonable to think another early hit-by-pitch would set both teams over the edge once again, but cooler heads prevailed. And things remained that way all night. After an early scare, there was no threat of another brawl between the Yankees and Red Sox on Thursday.
While Gray hitting a member of the Red Sox in the first inning would usually draw anger from the Yankees, it was pretty clear the pitch was unintentional. Gray threw a fastball that ran just a little too far inside, and hit Ramirez on the wrist as he was in the process of checking his swing.
Not only that, but it would have been a terrible time for Gray to suddenly enact his revenge on the Red Sox. He had just given up a single. With the hit-by-pitch, Gray put men on first and second for J.D. Martinez. If you’re going to intentionally hit another player, that’s one of the worst times to do it.
Ramirez had to exit the game with a wrist injury. He tweeted that he “should be OK” after X-rays came back negative.
Aside from the injury scare, it was a pretty good night for the Red Sox. Rick Porcello stymied the Yankees for quite a bit, carrying a no-hitter into the seventh inning. Aaron Judge was finally able to break through, smacking a leadoff double off Porcello at the start of the inning. Porcello kept Judge from scoring, and the Red Sox turned to the bullpen with a 6-0 lead.
That proved to be enough, but not before the Yankees started to show some fight. After allowing three runs in the ninth, the Red Sox had to turn to closer Craig Kimbrel to prevent the New York from completing the comeback. Kimbrel was able to get it done. The Red Sox won the game 6-3.
Prior to the start of Thursday’s game, Major League Baseball issued suspensions to both Tyler Austin and Joe Kelly for their roles in Wednesday’s fight. Both players appealed their suspension and were available to play Thursday, but did not enter the game.
That’s likely to be the only fallout either team will face from the league, especially after both clubs showed a willingness to move on Thursday.
– – – – – – –
Chris Cwik is a writer for Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at christophercwik@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @Chris_Cwik
More from Yahoo Sports:
• MLB hands out punishment in Yanks-Red Sox brawl
• Woman refuses to sing anthem after stadium bans guns
• Four reasons why the Mets are off to a hot start
• Pedro Martinez like how Red Sox handled brawl
