Things came to a boiling point with the Orioles and White Sox on Saturday.
Benches cleared in the fourth inning of Baltimore’s 4-2 win after a collision between Orioles utility player Coby Mayo and White Sox second baseman Lenyn Sosa.
Mayo, who hit a single into left field and got caught in a rundown after rounding first, crashed into Sosa when trying to run back to second base.
Mayo appeared to lunge into Sosa, who was clearly out of the baseline, intentionally.
“Look at that. Come on!” one of the White Sox announcers on CHSN said, while watching Mayo’s actions.
The two exchanged words when Mayo was tagged out by first baseman Miguel Vargas, with both benches clearing after the 23-year-old pushed Sosa when walking back to the dugout.
Despite both benches — and bullpens — running onto the field, no one was ejected from the game, with order being quickly restored with no ejections.
Mayo, who is the Orioles’ No. 2 prospect on MLB Pipeline and finished the day 1-for-3, was called up before Saturday’s game, with his hit that sparked the conflict marking his first career RBI.
The 2020 fourth-round draft pick had a brief stint in the majors last season, though he could not find much success, batting just .098 with 22 strikeouts in 41 at-bats.
This time around, he hopes to have a more extended stay.
“I think any player will tell you, it’s definitely more comfortable when you’re playing every day,” Mayo told reporters. “But obviously those things are out of your control. You have to come in here and make your opportunities worth it when you get those, and that’s what I’m trying to do.”
Mayo’s promotion back to the majors came after first baseman Ryan Mountcastle landed on the 10-day injured list with a right calf strain, the latest in a slew of injuries that have plagued Baltimore’s roster this year.
The Orioles are down 12 players due to injuries and sit in last place in the AL East with a record of 21-36.