Three fans sent Wednesday night at Yankee Stadium off the rails when they ran onto the field during the Yankees’ game against the Seattle Mariners, triggering a brief stoppage and a hard response from security.
The incident unfolded in the fifth inning while New York was trailing 5-3. According to the scene captured by fans in the stands, the three men hopped the wall and sprinted toward center field before multiple guards converged.
One fan had to be held down by several officers, and his shirt was ripped off in the scramble. Another was driven back toward the warning track, while the third was escorted away as the other two remained pinned to the ground.
The delay lasted three minutes.
Video of the field invasion spread quickly online, showing the tackles and the swift removal of the fans. Some viewers thought the security response went too far.
Others felt the fans brought it on themselves by interrupting play. No injuries were reported among the three men or the security staff.
Once the field was clear, the Yankees flipped the game. Trent Grisham tied things up later in the fifth with a home run, then came back with a go-ahead double in the seventh and another two-run homer in the eighth. He finished with four RBIs and three runs scored.
Rookie Spencer Jones also chipped in with three RBIs on a pair of doubles as New York kept piling on and finished with a 10-5 win. It was the Yankees’ first double-digit scoring game since early July, and it gave them a comeback victory in front of the home crowd.
The fan chaos may have stolen the spotlight for a few minutes, but the offense took over once the game resumed. Still, the images of security flattening the runners are the ones that are likely to stick.
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