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The New York Yankees' 8-5 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates on Monday featured some late-game fireworks.
In the bottom of the eighth inning, Pirates relief pitcher Dennis Santana induced Yankees shortstop Jose Caballero to ground into an inning-ending double play. But after the play ended, Santana blew a kiss towards Caballero and the two started barking at each other; this prompted the benches to clear, and Santana was restrained by catcher Rafael Flores Jr. to de-escalate the tension.
Santana was seemingly irritated by Caballero's "antics" in the batter's box. The shortstop had become known for trying to wait until the last second to engage with pitchers in an effort to force pitch clock violations; by rule, all hitters must be inside the box and engage with the pitcher with eight seconds remaining on the clock.
Jose Caballero's Postgame Reaction
After the game, Caballero took questions from the media about what happened between him and Santana in the eighth inning. He expressed surprise about how the situation escalated, and doesn't know exactly what Santana said to him.
"He was chirping at me, I was really surprised about it," Caballero said. "I don't really know [what was said], he was too far from me, I just saw him chirping and pointing at me, that's all. I didn't really hear anything."
Caballero then "guessed" that his strategy of engaging at the last second of the pitch clock was what upset Santana, before defending his strategy as a legal tactic.
"At this point he's lucky he doesn't get a ball right away," Caballero said. "We all should know about the rules. The whole league should know who I am, what I do in the box. For you to get mad about something the league implements, you should be mad at someone else."
"If you get frustrated, I’m winning," the Yankees' shortstop continued. "For me, it’s a battle in the box. I’m trying to win the battle. If you’re not concentrating 100 percent, I think I’m winning."
Dennis Santana's Postgame Reaction
Santana also met with reporters after the game and explained what caused him to react the way he did towards Caballero. He admitted that he was a "little bit" frustrated by Caballero milking the pitch clock, and that he felt it was unnecessary to do it at that point in the game.
"I'm not used to that," Santana said. "Baseball games have to be quick, it was the eighth inning, losing by three. We got the quick double play, so I just said 'Speed up, my guy.' It's nothing against him, I got caught up in the game."
Santana also provided a humorous response when asked if he wanted Caballero to apologize or if he felt it was necessary for him to give one.
"Do you see Pedro Martinez apologize?"
The Managers' Postgame Reactions
Both Pirates manager Don Kelly and Yankees manager Aaron Boone downplayed the incident in their respective media sessions.
"Dennis just got frustrated by something there, and thankfully it didn't end up being a big deal. The benches cleared, but then we got back to playing," Kelly said.
"I didn't see much of it," Boone said. "I was seeing if I needed to challenge the play. It sounded like there was some jawing back and forth, and the timing and everything, you know. Sometimes boys will be boys."
Both skippers were also asked about Caballero's strategy of running the pitch clock down. Boone viewed the strategy as a good way to disrupt a pitcher's timing, while Kelly believes that it can be overcome by simply continuing to execute.
"I think that Dennis did it, he stayed in the moment," Kelly said. "He continued to pitch, made his pitches and got a double play. Maybe a little frustration got out after, but he did a good job of staying within it and making a pitch when he needed to."
"Frankly, I think more guys should employ it," Boone said. "That way, you take the pitcher out of all the ability to disrupt timing."
