Zach Neto took Tarik Skubal deep on the first pitch of the game, crushing a fastball over the outfield wall and celebrating with a bunch of animated signals while rounding the bases. He threw in a phone call gesture, some hometown nods, and what looked like a hang loose sign. Skubal didn’t take kindly to the display. When Neto came back up in the third inning, Skubal mixed speeds and got the strikeout on a high fastball, then gave him a hard stare on the way back to the dugout. Neto responded with what looked like a mix of “got me one time” and “I can do that to you,” depending on how you read his lips.
That was enough for benches and bullpens to empty. One bullpen guy even jumped the fence trying to get out ahead of his teammates. But the crowd stayed on the grass, and cooler heads kept things from escalating. The umpires issued warnings, and eventually Skubal mouthed a quick apology. Neto acknowledged it. They both admitted postgame it wasn’t a big deal, just two guys caught up in the moment. No punches, no ejections, just some tension that fizzled fast.