A screenshot from the Rockies broadcast of an on-field altercation on the September 2 matchup against the Giants Photo Credit: MLB.TV
By Reice Shipley on

Tuesday’s matchup between the Colorado Rockies and the San Francisco Giants had one of the more unconventional starts of any game all season after Kyle Freeland took exception to a gesture from Rafael Devers in the top of the first inning.

After allowing a leadoff single to Heliot Ramos to start Tuesday’s game, Freeland’s outing got even worse when the next batter, Devers, took him deep to give the Giants a 2-0 lead.

Devers admired his work, staring at his home run blast until it landed before jogging down to first base. This caused Freeland to take exception to Devers, shouting at him as he began to round the bases. Both dugouts and bullpens would then clear and an on-field altercation would begin with pushing and shoving coming on both sides.

Dave Flemming and Javier Lopez were on the call for the extracurriculars on the Giants broadcast, while Drew Goodman, Jeff Huson and Ryan Spilborghs made up the Rockies three-man booth.

“Kyle Freeland, the benches are clearing as Rafael Devers tries to run the bases,” said Dave Flemming. “Freeland was unhappy and now we’ve got punches being thrown. Oh my goodness, and Devers still hasn’t rounded the bases.”

“He’s in the mix, he left the base path. This is now pushing out toward second base,” added Javier Lopez.

“Freeland did not like Devers admiring that one,” added Flemming. “And Freeland kind of lost his mind. And I think Chapman and Adames both raced out there. Now we have some stuff to sort out. And Bob Melvin is saying to Devers, ‘Maybe you should go and keep running.'”

Just as it seemed like tensions had cooled, Freeland, who was walking to the dugout at first after being ejected for his part in the melee, then began to shout at Giants shortstop Willy Adames, which sparked another moment that boiled over.

“And Logan Webb is running his mouth now,” said Lopez. “Now we’ve got more action.”

“Adames and Freeland are really going at it,” Flemming added.

“Well, we talked about how he gave up homers,” added Lopez. “And he did, he sat there and watched it. There is no question, that happened.”

“The camera is not focused on Willy (Adames),” said Flemming But he is hot, shouting over at Freeland.”

“We’re going to have to figure this out,” Lopez further added. “Again, Raffy left the base paths.”

After the incident occurred, it was unclear how the situation was going to be handled considering Devers did not get to finish his home run trot and went out of the base path in the midst of the on-field confrontation with Freeland.

Ultimately, first base umpire Dan Bellino announced to everyone in Coors Field that Freeland, Adames, and Matt Chapman would be ejected from the game. Meanwhile, Rafael Devers would stay in the game and be able to round the bases as Antonio Senzatela warmed up to replace Freeland.

Over on the Rockies broadcast, Drew Goodman, Jeff Huson and Ryan Spilborghs would share their thoughts on the ejections, largely agreeing that the main culprits in the incident were rightfully removed from the game after watching a replay of the incident in its entirety.

Ultimately, the game was largely meaningless for the Rockies, who have already been eliminated from playoff contention. But it couldn’t mean more for the Giants, who came into the game sitting  5.5 games behind the New York Mets for the final Wild Card spot in the National League. And it seems as if this incident may have given the Giants even more fire throughout the rest of the game, ultimately coming away with a 7-4 victory.

About Reice Shipley

Reice Shipley is a staff writer for Comeback Media that graduated from Ithaca College with a degree in Sports Media. He previously worked at Barrett Sports Media and is a fan of all things Syracuse sports.

View all posts by Reice Shipley