After their bench-clearing incident, Texas Rangers second baseman Marcus Semien revealed what Houston Astros catcher Martin Maldonado told him to spur it on.
MLB rivalries mean that much more when two teams are neck-and-neck for a division lead. That is the case for the Texas Rangers and Houston Astros, as the two are vying for the AL West crown at season's end. On Wednesday night, things got tense between the two teams, resulting in the benches clearing.
After Astros slugger Yordan Alvarez was hit in the shoulder on a 0-2 pitch by Andrew Heaney in the first inning, Houston pitcher Framber Valdez retaliated, throwing a pitch high and inside that hit Texas second baseman Marcus Semien. The All-Star would get revenge the next inning, crushing a two-run homer, and was seen staring down Valdez and sharing some words with catcher Martin Maldonado. In the exchange with Maldonado, Semien put his finger up to his mouth as he was walking away, as in "be quiet."
Things only heated up in the fifth after Rangers outfielder obliterated a grand slam. Semien was on base, and as he touched home, he again got into a verbal altercation with Maldonado. From there, the benches cleared and the bullpens emptied.
Marcus Semien reveals what Martin Maldonado said to him during Rangers-Astros bench-clearing incident
After the game, Semien explained his side of the story of what happened between himself and Maldonado. Semien started off by saying that Heaney didn't intentionally hit Alvarez. Semien revealed that after he was hit with the pitch from Valdez and crossed home plate on a home run, he told Maldonado "we're going to win this game." Semien said that he told Maldonado after Garcia's grand slam, "I told you."
A reporter asked Semien what Maldonado said to him. The second baseman revealed that after he told Maldonado that "we're going to win this game," the catcher replied, "Nah, it's going to be just like when you were in Oakland."
Semien's comments can be heard below, courtesy of Bally Sports Southwest.
The Rangers went on to win the game 13-5 to increase their first-place lead over the Astros to two games.
These two teams won't meet up again until Sept. 4-6, this time in Arlington. This game will carry heavy odds, as the winner of that series will earn the tiebreaker for the division title. It will be interesting to see if the two teams will look a bit different after the Aug. 1 trade deadline, especially if they choose to add talent.
The rivalry between the Rangers and Astros has heated up, but it will be over a month until the two teams meet on the field again.
