Sports

Pittsburgh Pitcher Explains Why He Blew Kiss At Yankees Hitter To Spark Benches Clearing Spat

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iStockphoto / Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

Dennis Santana sparked a benches clearing spat during a Pirates-Yankees game.


The Pittsburgh Pirates lost to the New York Yankees on Monday night, 8-5. Benches cleared in the eighth inning of play.

The confrontation was sparked by a blown kiss from Pirates reliever Dennis Santana. He was unhappy with Jose Caballero’s antics at the plate.

Santana’s reaction came with his team trailing by three runs. He attempted to provide reasoning in a postgame interview.

Dennis Santana blew a kiss at Jose Caballero.

Santana got Caballero to ground into an inning ending double play in the bottom of the eighth. He then began trash talking in the moments that followed.

The response caused both teams to leave their dugouts. While the situation wouldn’t devolve into complete chaos, Santana was clearly upset. He had to be forcibly restrained from going after the Yankees slugger.

Here’s why:

“Game speed,” he said when asked about his reasoning. “I’m not used to that. People wait too much at home plate… Baseball has got to be quick… Just don’t (take) that long (at) home plate and that’s it.”

Santana didn’t appreciate Caballero’s routine in the batter’s box. He was letting the pitch clock drop to the last possible second before taking his stance.

The home plate umpire briefly stopped play earlier in the at-bat with nine seconds on the clock. He warned Santana about not being engaged with the batter. A few pitches later, Santana revealed his unhappiness.

Aaron Boone provided his thoughts on the confrontation after the fact. He chalked it up to “Boys being boys.”

Jose Caballero responded to the Yankees-Pirates dispute.

“I’m trying to take my time. I don’t want [pitchers] to mess with my time, and I do my routine as always,” he said. “It’s just part of my routine. If you get frustrated, I’m winning because for me, it’s a battle in the box, and I’m trying to win the battle.

“If you are not concentrated 100%, I think I’m winning, but at the end of the day, it’s a rule that has been out there for four years now, and if you’re not used to it, you should practice.”

The new pitch timer rule has been in play since 2022. Batters are fine so long as they’re in the box with at least eight seconds left on the clock. Santana’s had time to adjust. He still took issue with Caballero’s antics.

While the pitcher admitted that emotions got the best of him, he refused to admit his wrong. “Do you see Pedro Martínez apologize?” he said in response to criticism.

New York would end the game with a perfect top of the ninth inning. The two teams will face off again on Tuesday.