During a recent game, Zach Neto had an interesting exchange with Hunter Brown of the Astros.
In Friday night’s match, Brown hit Neto during the third inning, marking a tense moment early in their respective careers.
Brown walked straight off the mound towards Neto, firmly communicating that he had no intentions of backing down or avoiding pitches inside the plate.
That pitch? A sinking fastball clocked at 95 miles per hour, which struck Neto between his forearm and wrist.
Both dugouts emptied, and teammates had to separate Brown and Neto, preventing the situation from escalating.
Brown also exchanged words with Angels’ Christian Moore during the incident.
Fortunately, even though emotions ran high, no punches were thrown, and no ejections happened.
Returning to play, Brown managed to retire Neto in the game’s third inning. The Astros ultimately edged out the Angels with a score of 3-2.
After the match, Brown noted, “There was no intention behind it.”
He added, somewhat dismissively, “Honestly, he’s the one making a big deal about it. (Neto) stands on the plate, but he doesn’t seem to like getting hit. That’s on him.”
This confrontation followed a heated series between the Padres and Dodgers, which featured multiple hit-by-pitches and even some bench-clearing incidents.
The Padres took the last game in that series but not without drama. Star players Fernando Tatis Jr. and Shohei Ohtani were involved in significant conflicts, leading to suspended players and ejections on both sides.
In contrast, the Astros-Angels situation felt a bit more subdued, though unclear on who might be at fault.
Neto commented on the situation, reflecting, “You just have to move past it. Last year, it didn’t seem intentional, especially with two strikes. But looking back at our history, it’s not the first time there’s been tension.”
