Benches clear after Jose Caballero's pitch clock tactics irk Dennis Santana

Benches briefly emptied during the Yankees' series opener against the Pirates on Monday night, when Pittsburgh pitcher Dennis Santana didn't take kindly to Jose Caballero's trademark routine in the batters box.

Cabellero was facing Sanatana in the bottom of the eighth when the Yankee infielder pulled off his usual mind games, stepping in the box but waiting until the very last moment permitted by the pitch clock to pick up his head and "engage" with the pitcher. Santana had already prepared to begin his delivery, but was cut off when the umpire signaled that he had to wait until Caballero made eye contact with Santana. Caballero eventually bounced into a double play, and Santana blew him a kiss. The two began exchanging words, to the point where Santana had to be held back by teammates as the benches cleared.

Order was quickly restored without much further incident, and after the game, Caballero made it clear that he is not changing his pre-pitch approach at the plate, and it is pitchers like Santana who will have to change their approach.

"At this point he's lucky he doesn't get a ball right away. We all should know about the rules," Caballero said, via SNY. "The whole league should know who I am, what I do in the box. For you to get mad about something the league implements, you should be mad at someone else."

Caballero doubled down that pitchers should automatically be penalized with a ball added to the count if they begin their motion before the batter "engages" them, noting that batters are issued a strike if they are not ready in time. He told reporters he did not hear what Santana was shouting to him after the double play, but assumed it was about Caballero milking the pitch clock as long as possible, a tactic he has implemented all season long.

Fireworks aside, the Yankees picked up an important win with a rare offensive breakout in an 8-5 victory led by Jazz Chisholm's two home runs.