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Come Fan with UsSaturday, June 20, 2026

Grant Balfour and Victor Martinez drop F-bombs on each other

V-Mart took exception to something Balfour said, and the mics picked up all the swearing that ensued.

Tensions were running a bit high in Monday's Game 3 of the ALDS, in which the Athletics defeated the Tigers 6-3 to take a 2-1 lead in the series. Before that went down, though, A's closer Grant Balfour said something to Tigers' DH Victor Martinez -- it's unclear what that was, but what followed is a lot louder and clearer than MLB Network likely wanted it to be.

If you’re not in a place where you can hear baseball players rattle off F-bombs, you probably shouldn’t play this with the sound on.

While both teams prepared for a playoff brawl to go down, everyone eventually settled down, and play resumed. According to Balfour's Australian-born countryman, Red Sox reliever Ryan Rowland-Smith, this was likely for the best:

The winning tweet from this whole thing, though, comes from ESPN’s Buster Olney:

Just in case you're unclear what that's a reference to.

More from SB Nation MLB:

Neyer: Kill the umpire! (But read this first)

Brisbee: The silver lining of Justin Verlander, ace of aces

Ladies’ night with the Astros: How not to market baseball to women

ALDS updates: Red Sox-Rays | A’s-Tigers

NLDS updates: Dodgers-Braves | Pirates-Cardinals

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