Oct. 11 (UPI) — New York Yankees infielder Jazz Chisholm Jr. accused Maikel Garcia of trying to injure shortstop Anthony Volpe and called him a sore loser for a physical slide during the Kansas City Royals’ Game 4 loss in the ALDS.
Chisholm called out the opposing third baseman after the Yankees beat the Royals 3-1 in the series finale Thursday in Kansas City, Mo. The play in question, which resulted in a benches-clearing meeting in the infield, in the bottom of the sixth inning.
“I just felt like he [Garcia] tried to go in and injure Volpe because he was being a sore loser,” Chisholm said, according to MLB.com. “You know what I mean?
“He was talking a ton on Instagram and Twitter and stuff. I do the same thing, but I’m not going to injure somebody if they’re winning a game. I didn’t like that. I told him we don’t do that on this side and I’m going to stick up for my guys.”
Benches clear during Game 4 in Kansas City between the Royals and Yankees. pic.twitter.com/2tpU77IFPf— MLB (@MLB) October 11, 2024
The incident occurred as the Royals trailed 3-0 with no one out and Garcia on first base. Second baseman Michael Massey was batting against Yankees starter Gerrit Cole.
New York’s ace threw a knuckle curve on an 0-2 count. Massey hit the pitch directly to Yankees first baseman Jon Berti, who tagged first base for the first out of the inning and then threw to second.
Volpe snatched the ball and reached to his left to tag Garcia, who went into a late slide, but was tagged out. Volpe and Garcia shared a brief exchange after a minor collision behind the base, but parted ways.
Chisholm then walked over to exchange words with the Royals infielder. Cole also walked toward the confrontation as players from both teams flooded the field. The players were separated and the game resumed.
Garcia later told reporters that he was “trying to create interference” so that Volpe would miss the throw. Volpe said Garcia “went in hard,” but he didn’t think the slide was dirty.
Garcia went 1 for 3 with a strikeout in the loss. He was one of the Royals’ best hitters in the ALDS, with a .375 (6 for 16) through four games.
Chisholm went 0 for 3 on Thursday and hit just .133 (2 for 15) in the ALDS. He homered in the Yankees’ 4-2 loss in Game 2 of the best-of-five game series.
The top-seeded Yankees will host the No. 2 Cleveland Guardians or No. 6 Detroit Tigers in Game 1 of the ALCS on Monday in New York.
