Chris Sale To Pay Fine For Kutter Crawford's National Anthem Stunt

Look at Chris Sale being a nice guy.

Saturday's stare-off between two former MLB teammates resulted in ejections and undisclosed fines for the players. Philadelphia Phillies' Matt Strahm and Boston Red Sox's Kutter Crawford were booted from the contest before the first pitch as the pitchers stared off lightheartedly after the national anthem.

The umps warned them to return to their respective dugouts and were ultimately reprimanded by the officials and MLB.

Since Crawford is on the Red Sox IL, his fine is expected to be steep. However, Sox coach Alex Cora stated that one teammate is ready to have Crawford's back.

Cora noted Sunday that Chris Sale is expected to pick up the fine for Crawford rather than letting him get hammered by the penalty. As pointed out by NESN’s Tom Caron, the manager noted that Crawford — who attended school at Florida Gulf Coast University, similar to Sale — will be saved by his teammate.

"The fines increase if you’re on the injured list, so it was a hefty fine for Crawford," Caron said, as relayed by Fox News Digital. "Word is, a Florida Gulf Coast University teammate by the name of Chris Sale will pick up the tab on that one. Alex Cora had a chuckle with us before the game saying, ‘He got a guy out of the game. He did his job.’"

Chris Sale of the Boston Red Sox delivers a pitch in the first inning (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)

Chris Sale Helps Out Red Sox Teammate

Anyone who looks at the tape will see that Strahm and Crawford were simply goofing off before the game. Why the officials took it wrong for any reason will be a mystery, but the good thing for Crawford is that the ramifications will not be as steep as expected.

Strahm commented after Saturday's game that no ill intent was communicated from their stunts and that the standoff was "unplanned." He also admitted that in retrospect, the stare-off wasn't his best idea.

“Zero of it was planned. Just, (the) anthem was over and I looked across and Kutter kind of gave me a grin and I know exactly what that grin meant so just stood there,” Strahm said.

He added, “If you know me, you know competition is everything to me so kind of felt like I was being called out right there. Looking back on it, probably not the wisest decision I’ve made in my big league career. … I guess I should’ve known better with how strict they are with pitch clock.”