Fan Hits Alex Verdugo With Baseball From Stands at Yankee Stadium

NEW YORK — The Yankees and Red Sox played through a torrential downpour for hours on Saturday night, but rather than a rain delay, it was an incident with a fan that brought the game to a standstill.

Before the bottom of the sixth inning began, Red Sox left fielder was suddenly struck by a baseball thrown in from the bleachers at Yankee Stadium.

The outfielder turned, looking into the stands as his teammates, umpires and stadium workers joined him on the outfield grass in a hectic scene.

Verdugo was furious, understandably so. Cameras picked up the outfielder screaming expletives toward the fans in the area while helping those involved pinpoint exactly who threw the baseball at him.

Members of Boston's coaching staff, including manager Alex Cora, joined their players on the field, quickly pulling the group back into the visitor's dugout.

"Glad Alex pulled them off the field and made a statement," Yankees ace Gerrit Cole said after the game. "I hope he's okay. That's pretty terrible. Hope it doesn't happen again."

Play eventually resumed and Verdugo returned to his position in left field in the pouring rain. It looked like the fan was also escorted out of the stadium once they were identified.

"It's awful, embarrassing, unacceptable," manager Aaron Boone said. "There's zero place for that in this great game, and in this great rivalry. Players should never feel like they have to worry about anything like that."

Boone added that he reached out to Cora to apologize and check in on Verdugo.

Aaron Boone sounds off on the Yankee fan who hit Alex Verdugo with a ball:

"There's zero place for that in this great game and in this great rivalry. Players should never feel like they have to worry about anything like that." pic.twitter.com/MNO8nd8zTA
— Yankees Videos (@snyyankees) July 18, 2021

Verdugo has been talking back and forth with the bleacher creatures this season each time the Red Sox have come to town—as outfielders often do when visiting the Bronx—but this act from a fan in the stands was stooping to a new low.

It was a situation similar to what transpired back in April when fans from all around Yankee Stadium tossed baseballs back onto the field of play, stopping a game against the Tampa Bay Rays. No players were hit during that wild scene, though.

Yankees Fans Look Worse Than Their Team in Loss to Rays

The game was tied when the incident with Verdugo occurred in the sixth, but it wouldn't stay that way for long. Later in the inning, Gary Sánchez and Gleyber Torres hit back-to-back opposite-field home runs to bring New York in front, 3-1.

New York ended up winning by that same score as the game was called after a rain delay in the seventh.

Follow Max Goodman on Twitter (@MaxTGoodman), be sure to bookmark Inside The Pinstripes and check back daily for news, analysis and more.