A Double-A game saw an all-out brawl on Thursday when an argument over a hit-by-pitch quickly escalated into fisticuffs.
With the bases loaded and two outs in the third inning, Binghamton Rumble Ponies starting pitcher Marcel Renteria appeared to hit Portland Sea Dogs designated hitter Tyreque Reed on the arm with a pitch. Reed appeared to be in some pain as walked toward first base, while Renteria seemingly appealed to the home plate umpire that his pitch hit Reed’s bat.
The pair turned their attention toward each other when Reed was halfway down the first-base line, with Reed opening the hostilities with a hard punch to Renteria’s head.
The dugouts and bullpens immediately emptied, with punches thrown and a large scrum emerging. Renteria recovered from the pitch and lunged at Sea Dogs infielder David Hamilton. It took about a minute for the brawl to calm down, with Renteria lying on the ground in pain at the end.
Renteria, whose team is in the New York Mets’ system, exited the game with an apparent injury while Reed, a Boston Red Sox minor leaguer, was ejected. Neither player is a notable MLB prospect; they don’t appear anywhere on MLB Pipeline’s Top 30 prospects for their respective systems.
Portland eventually won the game 12-5.