Tempers flared between the Tampa Bay Rays and the New York Yankees on Sunday after Randy Arozarena was drilled with a pitch at the beltline in the eighth inning.
Arozarena nearly spiked his bat on the ground before a couple strong glares turned into both dugouts (and bullpens) spilling onto the field.
That was not, however, Sunday's first incident. The Yankees' pitchers hit the Rays four times in that game, including one instance in which Ian Hamilton plunked Isaac Paredes in the head. Tampa has now been hit by a pitch six times during this series and 12 times on the season when facing the Yankees.
Let's be generous and call those numbers suspicious. The Yankees are dead last in the AL East and running on fumes. The Rays are an 80-win team with every reason to believe it can compete for a World Series title.
One could argue the Yankees are simply bitter, perhaps trying in vain to kickstart a season that's dead in the water. That's the position Rays second baseman Brandon Lowe took after the game.
"Looking at it, it's a last-place team against a team that's in contention," Lowe said. "They're just trying to ignite something over there... Not worth our time at this moment. We're focused on bigger things right now."
Tampa Bay Rays blame New York Yankees' bitterness for Randy Arozarena HBP conflict
Arozarena offered up a similar take after the game, noting that the same pitcher — Albert Abreu — hit him earlier in the season.
"I think it was on purpose," the All-Star told Tricia Whitaker of Bally Sports Florida. "If you look back at previous series, he's hit me before, they hit and hurt Yandy the other day and they hit Paredes."
Why are the Yankees targeting Arozarena and teammates?
""I don't know why, it just seems like they want to hit Randy. Coincidence, it's the same pitcher as last time."
Those are strong allegations. The truth probably lies somewhere in the middle between "the Yankees are on a seek and destroy mission" and "oohhh man, we didn't mean to hit you 12 times!" It's clear there's a bit of bad blood brewing between Arozarena and Abreu. The Rays-Yankees rivalry is naturally heated given the same-division nature of it all, but now there's real cause for concern whenever these two teams next meet. Especially if Abreu is on the mound.
That said, any future conflict will have to wait until the 2024 season. There's an outside chance the Yankees could meet Tampa in the playoffs, but there's a reason we aren't calling it an inside chance. New York is cooked from the looks of it and the entire organziation is preparing for a summer of introspection. Don't expect winning to get in the way of that.
