The Pittsburgh Pirates got off to a great start in 2023, posting a 6-3 record over the first nine games.

Yesterday in their 1-0 victory over the Chicago White Sox, things took a turn for the worse as we got our first cleared benches of the 2023 MLB season in the bottom of the sixth inning.

O’Neil Cruz Slide Causes Benches to Clear

With the Pirates holding onto a 1-0 lead, O’Neil Cruz took an awkward slide home into White Sox catcher Seby Zavala.

O’Neil was down on the ground in obvious pain and Zavala decided to talk shit, which definitely seemed like the wrong time to do that.

Cruz clearly didn’t want to truck-stick Zavala because of the “Buster Posey Rule” so if anything Zavala should have been happy he didn’t get completely rocked while trying to get the out at home plate.

There’s also an argument to be made that Zavala didn’t even leave a running lane for Cruz but honestly, the slide itself was the issue here. Not sure what Cruz was thinking but he came in super awkward and the result was the worst possible thing that could happen.

That awkward slide resulted in Cruz breaking his ankle while Zavala was running his mouth like a total jackass. Carlos Santana certainly didn’t like what Zavala was doing, causing the benches to clear.

Tough blow for the Pittsburgh Pirates, who at 6-3 currently sit in second in the NL Central behind the Milwaukee Brewers at 7-2.

Join The Chase