After the Oakland Athletics’ Brett Lawrie injured Kansas City Royals shortstop Alcides Escobar with a questionable slide Friday night, everyone knew that Lawrie would be hit on Saturday.
It wasn’t a matter of “if.” It was a matter of “when.”
The A’s touched up Royals starter Yordano Ventura for a five-spot in the top of the fourth inning of Saturday’s game. Lawrie stepped to the plate with one out in the inning, setting the stage.
Ventura sent a 99 mph fastball to Lawrie’s ribs on the second pitch of the at-bat. Knowing the situation, the home-plate umpire immediately ejected the pitcher.
The beaning resulted in both benches and bullpens emptying. To his credit, Lawrie absorbed the payback and just walked down to first base.
In case you missed the dirty slide, take a look below:
Escobar suffered a sprained knee as a result of the slide.
[MLB.com]
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