MLB batter punches pitcher after being struck by 160km/h pitch
Baltimore Orioles’ star Manny Machado has charged at infamous Kansas City Royals pitcher Yordano Ventura as an all-out brawl erupted at Oriole Park on Tuesday night.
Ventura, renowned for his aggressive pitching style had previously sent two hostile balls over the plate that came close to Machado. And when a third 160km/h fast-ball struck the batter in his torso it was to be the final piece of play between the pair.
Machado wasted no time, throwing off his equipment to rush at Ventura on the mound,with the benches clearing to join the fracas.
Ventura opened the exchange, but when his punch missed the charging Machado, the batter returned with a right hook that took the legs from under the pitcher, sending the bout to the ground.
"I don't regret anything," Machado told the media.
"It's part of the game. Reactions fly. When somebody's throwing 99 (miles per hour) at you, it's going to hurt. You can ruin someone's career. You don't think in that situation. You just react to it."
This isn’t the first time Ventura has been involved in a physical altercation in the MLB. Last season three separate incidents spurred by the Dominican have earn him a ‘villainous’ reputation across the league. Tuesday night’s commotion has done little to quell the pitcher’s infamy.
The brawl comes only weeks after a vicious altercation erupted between Rangers’ Rougned Odor and Toronto’s Jose Bautista which saw the former suspended for eight games for a jaw rocking blow.
