Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Dennis Santana nearly exchanged haymakers with a fan during a testy scene in Thursday’s road game against the Detroit Tigers.
With Wednesday’s game rained out, the Pirates and Tigers completed their three-game set at Comerica Park with a doubleheader. The red-hot Tigers soundly won the first game 9-2 to secure the series, improving to 48-27 on the season.
While that game was uneventful (aside from the contest itself on the baseball diamond), the same cannot be said for the second game.
Cameras caught Dennis Santana getting into a heated argument with a fan seated behind the Pirates’ bullpen. Santana went over to the fan and even tried throwing a punch at a fan before Pirates coaches escorted him away from the scene:
Dennis Santana is swinging at fans from the bullpen pic.twitter.com/cah20Ohtis
— Jomboy Media (@JomboyMedia) June 20, 2025
Another fan seated in the front row behind the bullpen caught a close-up angle of the Dennis Santana punch attempt:
Dennis Santana are we serious???? @espn pic.twitter.com/8XywEyTZtO
— Spencer Torkelson Believer (@TorkBeliever) June 20, 2025
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Santana wound up pitching one-third of an inning as the Pirates avoided the sweep, winning 8-4 in extra innings. Pirates ace Paul Skenes had another gem of an outing, going six innings with nine strikeouts and just two earned runs, as his ERA moved to 1.85.
The 29-year-old Santana began his career with the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2018. He also played for the Texas Rangers, New York Mets and New York Yankees before the Pirates picked him up off waivers last year.
Dennis Santana Is Having A Strong 2025 Season So Far
After bouncing around the league, Santana has found his game with the Pirates. Heading into Thursday’s doubleheader, he had an impressive 1.74 ERA and 25 strikeouts in 31 game appearances (31 innings pitched).
Santana is under contract through the 2026 season, so his trade value won’t increase from here. Don’t be surprised if the Pirates end up moving him to the highest bidder at the trade deadline.
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