Benches cleared during the White Sox and Pirates game after Pittsburgh shortstop Oneil Cruz fractured his ankle during a collision at home plate.

In the bottom of the sixth inning, Ke’Bryan Hayes was up to bat against a 1-2 count with runners on first and third with the Pirates leading at PNC Park on Sunday.

Hayes hit a bouncer to third baseman Yoán Moncada. He picked it up and threw it home to White Sox catcher Seby Zavala, who collided with Cruz as he ran to home plate.

Zavala had to leap to field the throw but landed just in time to tag out Cruz. But in the process, it appears the shortstop’s left foot fell awkwardly behind him and made hard contact with Zavala’s left leg, resulting in the injury.

The Pirates won the game 1-0.

“Cruz looks like he’s hurt,” one announcer said.

“Yeah, he went in awkwardly,” the other said.

“That does not look good.”

As Cruz was down on home plate and trainers ran up to him, a skirmish broke out, sparked by Pirates designated hitter Carlos Santana, who went after Zavala in frustration over the situation.

“I was just talking to Santana about it,” Zavala told reporters after the game. “He didn’t like what I said, he said something I didn’t like. That’s what happened. I think in a couple of days, everybody will forget about it.”

The benches for both teams cleared out to separate the two before it could grow worse, with Cruz still in pain on the ground.

Cruz, a 24-year-old lefty batter from the Dominican Republic, has been with Pittsburgh since he made his league debut against the Cincinnati Reds in October of 2021.

Cruz, who was 0-for-2 with a walk in the game, has a slashline of .250/.375/.750 this season with one homer and four RBIs.

“It’s a tough blow for sure for the team,” Pittsburgh outfielder Andrew McCutchen said. “But injuries do happen and it’s part of the game sometimes, unfortunately. It’s got to be a ‘next man up’ mentality and that’s what we have to have. We’ve got to keep going, keep pushing forward.”

— with AP