Pirates Address Bench-Clearing Incident Against White Sox
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CHICAGO — The Pittsburgh Pirates were focused on getting another win in a tough road environment, but almost ended up in a big brawl.
The Pirates and Chicago White Sox had a benches-clearing incident in the bottom of the seventh inning at Rate Field on Sept. 9, with both dugouts and bullpens coming out onto the field.
It came when the Pirates turned an inning-ending double play, and White Sox second baseman Sam Antonacci slid into Pirates second baseman Brandon Lowe, hitting him in the midsection with his elbow.
No one got ejected, with only warnings issued to each team, and the Pirates would end up winning 4-2 to take the series with a chance to sweep.
Things got heated between the Pirates and White Sox after Sam Antonacci caught Brandon Lowe with his elbow while sliding into second.
— Foul Territory (@FoulTerritoryTV) September 10, 2026
The two exchanged words before benches and bullpens cleared. pic.twitter.com/hIpgeuDNxZ
Brandon Lowe Talks Near Brawl
Lowe didn't get into it much with Antonacci, telling his second base counterpart how he felt and then walking away, before Antonacci became infuriated and tried to go after him.
Second base umpire Alan Porter stopped Antonacci as Lowe walked to the dugout, which then prompted the benches clearing and Lowe becoming confused by Antonacci's actions.
Lowe didn't care for Antonacci's slide, but was also surprised by his reaction and how quickly it all ended.
"I just didn't like the slide," Lowe said. "Said my piece and walked away. I don't really know what led to it clearing, but bad slide the first night, bad slide tonight, and just kind of tired of it...He said something back. I reiterated what I said, and then I thought that was the end of it, and just kind of walked and went about my business, and then saw our guys coming out, and next thing I know, they were clear."
Antonacci said he plays that way, describing his slide as legal and more old-school, and that he wasn't a fan of what Lowe said, and even mentioned Lowe saying something a day prior after another of his slides.
"Bases were loaded and went into the base pretty hard, just to try to make a harder throw for him to have to make," Antonacci said to Scott Merkin of MLB.com. "Completely legal play. If you go look at the rulebook or go look at what happened, you can slide as late as you want as long as you keep contact with the bag and that's exactly what happened.
"I think nowadays in this game, this age, I think a lot of people are used to just letting up on that play. They say 'we play 162 games, just let up early, I don't want to make contact with them.' But here we're trying to get a run in any way we can. That's a close ballgame, these are playoff games and all I'm trying to do is scratch a run there.
"I'm sure he's a great guy but he had a few choice words to say at the end and then kind of walked away after that. When you have a problem and you walk away like that, I'm happy enough to have a conversation but you can't walk away. He's a grown man.
"With all that being said, they won the game. They get the last laugh, I guess you could say."
How Other Pirates Players Saw the Incident
The Pirates didn't have anyone throw a punch or do anything drastic, but a few players gave their perspective on what went down.
Jared Triolo came in at third base and helped turn the double play that got the Pirates out of the bases-loaded jam, including throwing to Lowe before the slide occurred.
"I honestly didn't really see what happened," Triolo said. "I threw the ball and kind of started running in because I knew he was going to turn the double play, but just kind of knowing that he's, you know, a hard-nosed player, I assume, you know, something with the slide happened. So when I saw him talking, obviously went over there and saw what was going on."
Pirates rookie shortstop Konnor Griffin found himself in the first benches-clearing incident of his career, but looked more towards Lowe as the leader of the infield and the offense as a whole afterward.
“Yeah, he’s a veteran guy," Griffin said. "I feel like he’s gonna not let anything like that affect him and go out there and do his job. It’s just who he is.”
Pirates left-handed relief pitcher Brandon Eisert excelled against his former team, the White Sox, throwing 2.1 scoreless innings and posting five strikeouts in the win.
Eisert didn't get a chance to play a part in the incident, as he was already out of the game, but it would've been a great way to get acquainted with his former teammates.
"I wasn’t. I was back inside," Eiesert said. "I saw on TV. I was like, ‘What just happened?’ That was interesting. I didn’t get to be out there for that."
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Dominic writes for Pittsburgh Pirates On SI, Pittsburgh Panthers Pn SI and also, Pittsburgh Steelers On SI. A Pittsburgh native, Dominic grew up watching Pittsburgh Sports and wrote for The Pitt News as an undergraduate at the University of Pittsburgh, covering Pitt Athletics. He would write for Pittsburgh Sports Now after college and has years of experience covering sports across Pittsburgh.