TORONTO — Benches and bullpens cleared after Blue Jays shortstop Andrés Giménez was hit in the right hand by a fastball from Dodgers left-hander Justin Wrobleski in the fourth inning on Saturday night.
This World Series has, indeed, had just about everything.
Wrobleski came inside on Giménez on the previous pitch as well, and Giménez appeared to motion his hand toward the ball as it rode up and in. Wrobleski’s next pitch, a 2-2 fastball, hit Giménez in that right hand at 96 mph. Giménez took exception and barked at Wrobleski, who took two steps toward home plate and barked back. In an instant, both dugouts emptied and the bullpens followed suit.
Ultimately no ejections came from the incident. The following batter, George Springer, hit a line drive back up the middle that hit Wrobleski in the left leg — much to the delight of the fans at Rogers Centre. Wrobleski was briefly evaluated by a team trainer but remained in the game.
As dramatic as this World Series has been, it didn’t really have any hint of animosity between the two teams. Until Game 7, that is.
Of course, the plunking was almost certainly unintentional. Giménez is the Blue Jays’ No. 9 hitter, and the left-on-left matchup favored Wrobleski.
Instead, the Blue Jays had a runner on base for the fearsome top of their order. Springer’s liner off Wrobleski became a single, and Wrobleski soon exited after striking out Nathan Lukes. Tyler Glasnow then entered for the Dodgers and stranded both runners after getting Vladimir Guerrero Jr. to line out to center.
