White Sox, Tigers get into dustup after Abreu's aggressive slide at 2B
The Chicago White Sox and Detroit Tigers got into a minor fracas after Jose Abreu aggressively slid into second base while attempting a steal during the ninth inning of Monday's game between the AL Central rivals.
Benches cleared after an Abreu slide pic.twitter.com/7XuFCq9NPB
— White Sox Talk (@NBCSWhiteSox) September 27, 2021
Abreu reached base in the ninth inning by getting hit by a pitch from Tigers reliever Alex Lange. It's the 21st time the White Sox first baseman has been hit this season. Only Anthony Rizzo, Jonathan India, Mark Canha, and Ty France have been plunked more this year.
Lange then threw a pitch in the dirt that Abreu tried to advance on. After getting tagged out by Niko Goodrum at second, Abreu slid beyond the bag and stood up quickly to argue with the shortstop. Lange joined the scuffle, and the benches and bullpen emptied. Umpires didn't eject anyone.
I would like the rest of Major League Baseball to stop throwing at the White Sox. They have been hit 26 more times than they have hit anyone. Especially Jose Abreu.
— Vinnie Parise (@VinnieParise) September 27, 2021
pic.twitter.com/SvYgJEyDWd
The White Sox held on to win 8-7 for their 89th victory of the campaign.
Following the game, White Sox left-hander Dallas Keuchel seemed to pledge retaliation for Lange beaning Abreu.
"If I was pitching tomorrow, I'd stick up for Pito (Jose Abreu) myself," Keuchel said, according to ESPN's Jesse Rogers. "Or, I guess, Friday."
The two teams meet for a three-game set to finish their respective seasons beginning Oct. 1.
Tigers manager A.J. Hinch rejected any notion that Lange would purposefully plunk Abreu.
"We worked our tail off to get back in that game," Hinch said, according to Evan Woodbery of MLive. "That's another reason we're not going to drill Jose with two strikes. We worked our tail off to even have a chance at that game."