Benches clear as Gomez, McHugh exchange words

Benches cleared in the Rangers’ half of the second inning in an altercation involving Carlos Gomez, a former Astros outfielder, and Houston pitcher Collin McHugh.

McHugh threw inside to Gomez, who exchanged glances and then words with the pitcher. Gomez began to walk toward the mound, and in baseball tradition, the benches and, a minute or so later, the bullpen charged to the scene.

Order was restored without hostilities escalating to Rougned Odor Level 5. Bench coach Steve Buechele walked Gomez back to the plate.

The two have a history.

In May, Gomez, who played with Houston in parts of 2015-16, had to be retrained after Astros pitcher Lance McCullers threw behind Mike Napoli. However, he seemed to be as angry with McHugh.

“He is standing up in the dugout when he is on the DL and yelling,” Gomez said at the time. “If he has something to say, say it to me. He’s not man enough to stand in front of me and say it.”

Much to his chagrin undoubtedly, Gomez struck out for the first out in the inning.

This story was originally published September 25, 2017 at 8:20 PM with the headline "Benches clear as Gomez, McHugh exchange words."