Yankees and Orioles benches clear after Pablo Reyes lands on Heston Kjerstad's head, a breakdown
What Happened
In the bottom of the ninth inning of a close Yankees-Orioles game, New York Yankees outfielder Pablo Reyes scrambles to field a ball hit in his direction. As Reyes leaps to make the play, he accidentally lands on top of Baltimore Orioles outfielder Heston Kjerstad's head, causing an immediate reaction from Kjerstad. "Hey, if you're going to go up, don't fucking land on me," Kjerstad says angrily to Reyes, who attempts to explain that he was just making a play on the ball. The situation quickly escalates, with both players exchanging words and the benches clearing as the teams converge on the field. The umpire tries to maintain control of the situation, repeatedly yelling "Hey!" in an attempt to settle the players down. Orioles outfielder Cedric Mullins approaches Reyes, seemingly trying to de-escalate the confrontation, but Orioles pitcher Félix Bautista instead begins laughing at the scuffle, further fueling the tension. As the two teams gather around the initial altercation, more players start rushing in from the bullpens, creating a chaotic scene on the field. The umpire, clearly overwhelmed by the growing crowd, decides to eject both managers and begin clearing the field, recognizing that the situation has spiraled out of control. Replays show that Reyes was indeed making a legitimate play on the ball, but his jump and subsequent landing on Kjerstad's head was an unfortunate accident. Kjerstad, understandably upset at being landed on, reacted emotionally in the heat of the moment, leading to the benches clearing. After the umpire restores order, the players slowly make their way back to their respective dugouts, the intensity of the confrontation now dissipated. The game continues, with the Yankees holding a slim lead late in the contest, the earlier incident serving as a brief but intense disruption to the proceedings.
Full Transcript
Click timestamps to jump to that momentThere was a little bit of a disturbance
in the Yankees Orioles game last night.
This breakdown is brought to you by
DraftKings. We've got a runner on first
and a full count. Strike him out. Throw
him out. No. The throw's high. Seat drop
on the head. Kirstad doesn't like that.
He says, "Hey, if you're going to go up,
don't [ __ ] land on
me. If you're gonna go up, don't [ __ ]
land on me. Don't say it like I did it
on purpose. I'm playing the ball." The
[ __ ] What are you talking about? What
did you What did you say? Huh? I was
going for the [ __ ] ball. Okay, so
that's the main perspective. Kirstad and
Pablo Reyes. But I want to let you know
what was going on the umps brain this
entire time cuz he was in a blender.
Watch this. Hey, hey,
hey. All right. Hey, hey, I know what
happened. Yeah. Hey, hey, look at the
middle of all those hays right here. is
just in four of them. He's like, are you
looking around? He's seeing him
everywhere. Hey. All right.
Hey.
Hey. He thought he had Pablo Reyes at
bay here, you know? He's like, you stay
in that corner. Hey. And then Pablo
Reyes started coming on Cookie side
where he would have been twoon-one. So
that's why this Hey has got a little
more vigor. He turns home. Hey.
Hey. I I know what
happened. Okay. Backup coming. a backup
coming. Then the other side there's
Vulpi who Vulpi always in these
altercations we found out has like a
[ __ ] eating I'm going to act like I'm
calming this down but I'm going to egg
you on more energy and he comes in and
just starts laughing at him. He's like,
"Hey, what are you talking about? Yo yo
yo, you all right? Shut the [ __ ] up." I
think it's fair response. You know,
Vul's not actually interested if he's
all right. He's trying to egg him on.
Shut the [ __ ] up. What are you talking
about? He's making a play on the ball.
Come on, man. You're good. Laughing at
him as he goes off. Trent gives him a
little stare right here like, "Dog, what
up? You get landed on your head or
something?" Oh, and then the bullpens
come rushing out. Look at the sprint
from the Orioles who got first in line.
you know, they're both in the same spot
using the same door. They could they
could just they could all just turn at
this point and man up, be like, "Okay, I
got you. You got me. Okay." And then
they'd be good. Instead, they wait
patiently in line to get through the
door and then sprint to the pile of
people who are just standing around
doing nothing. Uh, my boy Weaver came in
last. That's fine. Maybe he was taking a
[ __ ] or something. I don't know. This
umpire's had enough. He's like, "I I
don't like crowds anymore. This This
sucks. This is too many people. Yeah, I
got to get out of here. Like my Ask my
wife. I hate being in crowds. I don't go
to concerts with her anymore. And now
they're leaving. He's like, "Ump is
right. Ump is correct. That was too many
people. So, let's just walk slowly back.
Much slower pace on the way back."
Here's the replay. He jumps up to grab
the ball. If he doesn't stop that ball,
the runner can go to third base. He's
got to jump up to stop it.
Unfortunately, he comes down on his
head, which stinks for Kirstad. I fully
agree that from his point of view, that
sucks. So, I think he gets like a couple
seconds of anger right here. And then
once he realizes he's okay, Pablo Reyes
is kind of saying like, "You're all
right, man." So, you know, right here,
he can come up, he could say something,
but after that probably be like, "All
right, my bad. Sorry." But if you get
landed on the head, you you are within
your rights to a couple seconds of
anger. So that's my thoughts. If you
want to hear really biased Yankee fans
thoughts, you can listen to the most
recent episode of Talking Yanks. Those
two dummies broke it down. If you want
biased Orioles fans thoughts, I'm sure
there will be a bunch in the comments.
Why not? I I welcome you. And if you
want neutral party thoughts, that's up
to you. Share them. This breakdown was
brought to you by DraftKings. Thank you
to DraftKings very much. Goodbye.