“Clean Play, Really Terrible Slide” – Massive Fan War Commences After Star Pirates Shortstop’s Play Leads to Benches-Clearing Brawl

With six wins in their first nine games, the Pittsburgh Pirates are evidently playing some good baseball. On the other hand, the Chicago White Sox have lost six of their first ten games. Before yesterday’s game, the Pirates were somewhat settled and content. However, after taking on the White Sox at their home ground, a big hole has dug itself into the Pirates roster as their star shortstop, Oneil Cruz, will spend at least the next few days on the injury list.

With a fixed spot in the team and an unparalleled skill set, Oneil Cruz now has a fractured left ankle after he crashed into White Sox catcher Seby Zavala in the bottom of the sixth. Cruz made a run for the home plate in an attempt to score from third after Ke’Bryan Hayes’ weakly hit grounder. However, he awkwardly dived into the home and ended up colliding with catcher Seby Zavala. In little to no time, as Cruz failed to stand, a few words were exchanged, and a massive fight broke out.

As Oneil Cruz went down, benches cleared in Pittsburgh!

Cruz’s left leg bent awkwardly as he fell to the ground, and he instantly writhed in pain. Although Cruz was clearly down, White Sox catcher Zavala shouted at him. Pirates’ Carlos Santana was not pleased with Zavala’s behavior and responded back with a few sharp words. The two men then confronted each other, and Santana pushed Zavala’s chest protector, leading to both teams’ benches and bullpens clearing.

After the game, Carlos Santana spoke about the incident, and said, “[Cruz] wasn’t trying to hit [Zavala] on purpose. It was a quick play. Everything was fast. I don’t like how [Zavala] screamed at [Cruz] when he got hurt. For me, I had to support my teammate.”

Read More: “Don’t See That Everyday”: Baltimore Orioles and Pittsburgh Pirates Stun MLB Fans by Defying Umpires During Spring Training Game

Zavala, on the other hand, expressed unhappiness with Cruz waiting till the last minute to slide, and commented, saying, “Just a baseball play. Didn’t want anybody to get hurt, didn’t want it to escalate that far. It escalated and I can’t really do anything about it.”

Fans start pointing fingers as the blame game commences

As the fight reached Twitter, fans from both teams engaged in a blame game. While some believed that there was nothing wrong with Cruz’s dive, others pointed out that it was an “awful slide” and the catcher did his job by leaving the plate open.

This is how fans reacted:

All in all, there is no doubt that Cruz’s injury will leave a massive void in the Pirates’ lineup. Will this mark the end of an impressive start to 2023 for the Pirates? What do you think? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!

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