Cishek ejected for starting Mets-Nats bench-clearing incident

Washington Nationals and New York Mets benches clear after shortstop Francisco Lindor (not pictured) was hit by a pitch delivered by pitcher Steve Cishek (not pictured). Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports

Steve Cishek ejected for starting Mets-Nationals bench-clearing incident

Originally posted on Larry Brown Sports | By Larry Brown | Last updated 4/8/22

The Washington Nationals and New York Mets gave us our first bench-clearing incident of the 2022 MLB season.

Things got heated between the teams during the top of the fifth inning on Friday night when reliever Steve Cishek threw up and in on Francisco Lindor, who was attempting to bunt. Cishek’s pitch hit Lindor in the helmet, and the Mets shortstop went to the ground.

Mets manager Buck Showalter came out of the dugout yelling, while players from both sides came onto the field.

Steve Cishek throws a dangerous pitch to Lindor, a day after Pete Alonso was hit in the face, and we have the first benches clearing incident of 2022 pic.twitter.com/YLXplPB7GD

— Baseball Fight Club (@mlb_fights) April 9, 2022

Cishek was ejected from the game even though it was just his second pitch. He was replaced by Sean Doolittle.

The low tolerance for Cishek’s high pitch to Lindor may have been rooted in what happened a day earlier. The Nats hit the Mets with a pitch three times in Thursday’s opener. James McCann was hit twice, while Pete Alonso was hit in the head.

This article first appeared on Larry Brown Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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