The Houston Astros and Seattle Mariners are in the thick of a super tight playoff race as the 2023 season comes down to the wire. The tensions got really hot in their latest game as the benches emptied following a kerfuffle between Hector Neris and Julio Rodriguez.

In the bottom of the sixth inning, Neris struck out Rodriguez on three pitches and got fired up, shouting at the Mariners star and igniting a heated confrontation that caused dugouts and bullpens to empty. Rodriguez was visibly frustrated at Neris, who walked right away and didn’t turn around to look at Rodriguez until later.

Mariners third baseman Eugenio Suarez was on the on-deck circle as Neris chirped Rodriguez. He told Adam Jude of the Seattle Times that Neris shouted a homophobic slur in Spanish at Rodriguez. Although there has been some dispute about what the specific word Neris used, it's clear based on Rodriguez's body language that Neris was out of line.

After the game, which the Astros won by a score of 8-3, Neris said that there was nothing personal between him and Rodriguez, according to Shane Lantz of the Associated Press.

“It’s part of the game, emotional, like this situation today,” Neris said, via AP. “But it’s nothing personal. It’s only trying to (wake) up my team.”

Rodriguez was unavailable for questions after the game. According to Lantz, a Mariners spokesperson said that Rodriguez was shocked at Neris' behavior but said that he doesn’t believe he had any prior issues with the Astros pitcher.

The Astros won the series against the Mariners as both teams head into their final series of the regular season. Buckle up for what will be a crazy ride to the finish line.

The Astros, Mariners and Texas Rangers are fighting down to the wire for the AL West title. Texas owns the top spot and leads Houston by 2.5 games and Seattle is 1.5 games back of the Astros. The Mariners will host the Rangers for a four-game series to end the regular season while the Astros close it out with a road matchup against the Arizona Diamondbacks, who are fighting for their own playoff lives in the NL Wild Card race.