Not pleased with what they deemed a lack of professionalism, the New York Yankees let Houston Astros outfielder Carlos Gomez have it on Tuesday night.
Gomez wasn't interested in hearing what they had to say.
With Houston leading 9-0 in the top of the sixth inning, Gomez flied out to center field. Thinking he just missed the pitch, the Astros star shouted angrily (seemingly at himself), tossed the bat aside and began jogging down the first-base line.
The Yankees took exception to Gomez's actions and let him know. After hearing some chirping from the New York dugout, Gomez repeatedly told his opponents to "shut up." Benches poured onto the field, but that was the extent of things.
Yankees manager Joe Girardi explained what led to the flared tempers:
Gomez understood that the Yankees may have been frustrated but did not appear to regret anything he did.
"If they feel frustrated, that's not my problem," Gomez told Marly Rivera of ESPN Deportes (via ESPN's Andrew Marchand). "This is part of the game, part of the nature of competition, and those who don't know how to compete can just go home and cry."
Gomez elaborated on the situation, via Brian McTaggart of MLB.com:
I think I respect the players enough and I've been long enough in the league so they know who I am. And if you're screaming at me, I'm going to scream at you back. It's not on me to disrespect anybody. It's like, you know, be passionate, be competitive.
As Girardi noted, this isn't the first time Gomez has been in a situation like this. Back in 2013, Gomez (then with the Milwaukee Brewers) was at the center of a bench-clearing incident with Brian McCann (now a Yankee) and the Atlanta Braves following a home run.
Gomez got the last laugh Tuesday night. The Astros center fielder hit a three-run shot in the top of the seventh inning to give his team a 15-0 lead.
Houston cruised to a 15-1 victory.
[MLB.com]
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