There was some rivalry flare in an otherwise mundane showdown between the Tigers and Angels Friday evening.
Although no punches were thrown — or ejections necessary — the benches cleared between the two clubs after Tarik Skubal’s strikeout of Zach Neto.
It looked like Neto said, “You got me once,” and Skubal said, “Yeah, I got you.”
In the first inning, Neto hit a homer on the first pitch of the game against Skubal. Neto definitely took his time admiring his blast, with Skubal surely taking notice.
It was Neto's first career leadoff home run, and his fourth long ball of the season. The superstar shortstop is hitting his stride now in his second full season. He posted 5.1 WAR a year ago and is one of the best shortstops in the sport. He also has some flare to his game, too — just ask Skubal.
The Angels are looking to snap a six-game losing streak, and will certainly hope that the argument will energize the club going forward.
Follow The Sporting News on WhatsApp
“I think teams go through stretches,” General Manager Perry Minasian said to Sam Blum of The Athletic before the game. “You know, teams go through stretches where they don’t swing the bat well. When you don’t swing the bat, you’re gonna have some numbers that aren’t flashy, right?
“But you can pick a six-game stretch, 10-game stretch, from anybody and point to certain times where, man, they’re really struggling, and offensively they haven’t scored.”