Justin Verlander And Victor Martinez Appear To Argue In Dugout [VIDEO]
By: Evan Jankens
@kingofthekc
Absolute hell broke out during the Tigers and Yankees game Thursday afternoon.
It started when Miguel Cabrera and Austin Romine got into a brawl that cleared the benches.
After that died down, Yankees pitcher Dellin Betances hit Tigers catcher James McCann in the head with a fastball.
With tensions as high as ever, Tigers pitcher hit Yankees third baseman Todd Frazier with a pitch.
And then it looked like members of the team turned on each other... Video from the Yes Network that broadcasts the Yankees games in New York showed footage of Justin Verlander and Victor Martinez appearing to argue in the dugout after the initial brawl.
Nicholas Castellanos appeared to be unhappy with Martinez for pow-wowing with Gary Sanchez after Sanchez had punched Castellanos in the face. Verlander apparently jumped in to make peace between the two. Then Verlander said something unpleasant to Martinez, who tried coming back at him.
Asked about the dispute afterward, Castellanos said, "In-house matter, and it's been handled."
Martinez wasn't available for comment in the clubhouse after the game and Verlander declined to speak to the media through a team spokesperson.
One person who had a front-row seat for the exchange was Alex Presley, who was leaning against the bat rack directly behind Verlander and Castellanos.
"I was getting ready to hit. Just words exchanged. We're together all year, so it happens," Presley said, understandably trying to downplay the incident. "It wasn't anything that was gonna come to blows or anything like that, from what I was paying attention to."
Brad Ausmus was still trying to diffuse the situation on the field when Castellanos, Martinez and Verlander got into it in the dugout.
"So I haven't seen it," he said. "I haven't talked to them about it. I'm aware of it, but I couldn't tell you what it was about."
Ausmus said he doesn't have a problem with such disagreements between teammates.
"Emotions are running high, they're running high on both sides," he said.
