The Rockies and Giants might’ve shown the most fight they’ve had all season in the first inning of Tuesday’s game in Denver.
After San Francisco star Rafael Devers hit a towering home run at Coors Field in the Giants’ 7-4 win, the benches cleared with plenty of shoves being thrown on the field in a wild scene.
Devers watched his homer and began trotting around the bases, and it seemed as if Rockies starter Kyle Freeland took exception, jawing at the slugger as he got past first base. Devers fired back as first base umpire Dan Bellino tried to hold him back.
As tensions rose, both dugouts emptied onto the field, with Giants stars Matt Chapman and Willy Adames both throwing shoves at Freeland despite umpires trying to prevent things from escalating.
“I don’t know why he got like that,” Devers said of Freeland after the game through an interpreter, according to the San Francisco Chronicle. “I didn’t do anything wrong. I mean, I did the same thing I do every time I hit a home run.”
Things appeared to finally cool down before the teams came close to one another, with cooler heads finally prevailing without more shoving.
Freeland, Adames and Chapman were all ejected.
The Rockies starter called Devers’ home run trot “extremely disrespectful.”
“Extremely disrespectful to show me up like that in the first inning after hitting a home run. Standing there, watching it, taking your sweet time getting down to first base,” Freeland said, per the Denver Post. “I’ve been in this league quite some time, and I know he has as well. I just find that extremely disrespectful, and I felt that I needed to let him know about that.”
Once the Giants cleared the field and Antonio Senzatela took over the pitching duties for Colorado, the umpiring crew made Devers finish rounding the bases after his 30th long ball of the season in what was a bizarre way to start the NL West clash.