On Friday night, tempers flared between the Tigers and the Angels when Detroit’s star pitcher, Tarik Skubal, shouted at Zach Neto following a strikeout in the third inning.
The benches briefly cleared after the incident, which occurred as Neto headed back to the dugout.
It was likely tied to Neto’s first-inning homer off Skubal.
After Neto’s leadoff blast, he looked at Skubal and also yelled at him and Skubal replied.
Angels manager Ron Washington said the fireworks were started by Skubal, who was the American League Cy Young award winner last season.
“I can only speculate because I didn’t really look into it,” Washington mentioned to reporters. “Skubal got him out on his first try, struck him out again on the second, and might have said something to Neto. After Neto’s strikeout, he just walked away. It’s simply two competitors in the heat of the moment.”
The players seemed to agree with that sentiment.
Skubal remarked, “It’s all about competition. There’s nothing personal in it. I respect him as a great baseball player, as he’s shown throughout his career. Competition tends to draw out our best. I hope he realizes it wasn’t meant personally; I’d like to think he’d know I’m not like that. What happened, happened. I should probably act a bit more thoughtfully next time.”
Neto added: “The first inning, got a good swing off of him, the next time I faced him, he got a good pitch that I swung and missed on. It’s just a very competitive sport. Two guys, high energy, big-time situation. That’s what the game is all about.”
Tensions eased later in the Tigers’ 9-1 win, as nothing popped up between the two after Skubal got Neto to ground out in the sixth.
