WATCH: Benches clear in Orioles vs. White Sox game after wild confrontation in 4th inning

The Baltimore Orioles' game against the Chicago White Sox on Saturday witnessed a controversial moment that led to both benches clearing in a frantic contest.

Controversy erupted in the bottom of the fourth inning, with Orioles rookie Coby Mayo at the heart of the incident. The MLB Pipeline’s No. 17 overall prospect lined a hit toward leftfield for a single. However, Mayo was caught in a rundown between first and second base.

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White Sox second baseman Lenyn Sosa tossed the ball to first baseman Miguel Vargas as a tag-out looked imminent. However, Mayo collided with Sosa, seemingly looking for an interference call before being tagged by Mayo.

Sosa and Mayo engaged in a heated confrontation, with Mayo pushing the Chicago second baseman. That led to players from both dugouts rushing to the field, with several players involved in a pushing contest.

The Orioles scored a run in the fourth to take a 2-0 lead with Mayo registering an RBI single. Baltimore added two runs in the fifth and held out for a 4-2 win to clinch the series with a game remaining.

Coby Mayo explains his side after benches clearing incident in Orioles vs. White Sox

Following the game, the Orioles rookie cleared the air around his controversial base running incident. Coby Mayo said that he wasn't looking to escalate things and was just trying to reach second.

"Obviously, I was just trying to get to second base," Mayo said after the game. "I was trying to get into scoring position for Heston (Kjerstad) and (Chicago) cuts it off and I got into a rundown.

"I was being told in the minor leagues to try to stay in a rundown. I thought he was in the baseline and just tried to get some contact and didn't mean for it to escalate. I wasn't trying to do that. It just, it did."

While Coby Mayo registered his first RBI of his MLB career after being recalled to the team ahead of the game, it's likely going to be eclipsed by his controversial confrontation.

About the author

Chaitanya Prakash is an editor who covers US Sports at Sportskeeda. His first brush with sportswriting was in 2012 when the greatest football manager of all time, Sir Alex Ferguson, bid farewell to the beautiful game.

Although having started out professionally as a cricket writer in 2022, Chaitanya's curiosity and indiscriminate interest in all sports in general eventually introduced him to America's favorite pastime.

While Chaitanya's favorite player from the current crop is the dynamic Venezuelan Ronald Acuna Jr., his all-time favorite, however, is Pedro Martinez, for his self-belief and consistency. He also rates Jose Bautista's iconic bat flip in 2015 as his favorite moment in baseball history.

Chaitanya specializes in reporting on technical aspects of the game or analyzing patterns behind specific plays. He also likes pondering over players' self-assessments following the conclusion of a game as it helps him get an idea of how they think about the sport in general.

When not cheering for his favorites across sports, Chaitanya likes being transported to the past through a good war documentary or a historical documentary in general.

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Edited by Chaitanya Prakash