Problem is, it’s a really long way from the first base bag to the first base dugout at the Oakland Coliseum, so when Laureano charged toward his nemesis, Houston hitting coach Alex Cintron, after being challenged, other Astros were able to close the hole and make the tackle before Laureano could get to him.
Give backup catcher Dustin Garneau credit for the stop.
Laureano and A’s catcher Austin Allen were ejected in the seventh-inning incident. Allen got tossed after the benches cleared.
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Laureano and Cintron were not made available for comment after the game, MLB.com reported. A’s manager Bob Melvin put the blame on Cintron without referring to him by name.
“Ramon doesn’t go over there unless something completely offensive came out of the dugout,” Melvin said. “I think the league will know who that is. That person should get suspended. Hopefully, that’s the case.” Melvin said that having no spectators in the stadium should make it easier for MLB to determine who said what when it reviews the tape and hears what field microphones picked up.
There were unconfirmed reports that Cintron said something to Laureano about his mother. Astros manager Dusty Baker, who was ejected in the top of the seventh for argunig balls and strikes, told reportres that he would check with Cintron, although he also said he dobuted anything like that was said, citing Latino culture.
The flaring of tempers is not a surprise. Oakland is not only a division rival of Houston but also a focal point in the Astros’ cheating scandal. A’s pitcher Mike Fiers last offseason blew the whistle on the Astros’ rampant sign-stealing during the team’s 2017 World Series championship season. Fiers was a member of the Astros’ pitching staff that year.
On top of that, the A’s were leading big at the time of the fight and were poised to complete a three-game sweep of the 2019 AL champs. They went on to win 7-2 and extend their AL West lead over Houston to 5 1/2 games.
Laureano, meanwhile, has now been hit three times by Astros pitchers this season, although the HBP that sparked the brawl was off a breaking pitch.
