Tensions were already high heading into Friday’s Game 5 ALCS matchup between the Houston Astros and Texas Rangers, with both teams tied at two wins apiece. The level of intensity didn’t slow down once the game began. In fact, the bottom of the eighth inning delivered arguably the most controversial moment of all, when Dusty Baker, Bryan Abreu, and Adolis Garcia were all ejected.
It started with the man on the mound, with the Astros turning to Abreu to handle the eighth inning. But things flew off the handle when Abreu struck Garcia with a 98-mph four-seam fastball, causing all hell to break loose.
Baker is in his fourth season as manager of the Astros. Coming into Friday, he’d only been ejected five times across those 546 regular season games.