NEW YORK — Two New York Yankees fans who were ejected from Game 4 of the World Series for interfering with Los Angeles Dodgers right fielder Mookie Betts were banned from Game 5 Wednesday night.

Betts jumped the wall in foul territory and initially caught Gleyber Torres’ pop-up in the first inning Tuesday night, but a fan in the front row with a gray Yankees jersey grabbed Betts’ glove at two hands and removed the ball. Another fan grabbed Betts’ ungloved hand.

The first fan told the Los Angeles Times on Wednesday that he was just “too passionate” and “probably crossed the line.”

Austin Capobianco, a 38-year-old fan from Connecticut, said he was trying to steal the ball from Betts to help his favorite team.

“I’m an overly passionate fan who probably crossed the finish line last night,” Capobianco said in a text message to the newspaper. “All I wanted to do was prevent this from being an outcome.”

In a post-match interview with ESPN, Capobianco said his actions and those of his table neighbor, John Peter, were premeditated.

“We always joke about ball in our area,” ESPN quoted the season ticket holder as saying. “If it’s in our area, we go to D up. Someone defends, someone hits the ball. We talk about it. We are ready to do it.

The Yankees called the fans’ behavior “egregious and unacceptable.”

“Yankee Stadium is known for its energy and intensity, but the exuberance of supporting your team can never cross the line and intentionally put players in physical danger,” the team said Wednesday in a statement. “The Yankees and Major League Baseball maintain a zero-tolerance policy toward the type of behavior displayed last night. These fans will not be allowed to attend tonight’s game in any capacity.

The Major League Baseball Players Association also expressed concerns about the safety and security of players.

“As with any incident at the stadium that affects players, we have been in regular contact with league security officials since last night’s incident and will closely monitor the response to this incident and the protective measures taken starting this evening,” the statement said. the union said in a statement.

The Dodgers had a two-run lead at the time of the incident on Freddie Freeman’s two-run home run. Betts reacted angrily to the play and Torres was immediately called out for fan interference.

“When it comes to the person on the line, it doesn’t matter,” Betts said after the Yankees extended the series with an 11-4 victory. “We lost. It’s not relevant. I’m doing well. He’s fine. Everything is cool. We lost the game and that’s what I’m focusing on. We need to turn the page and prepare for tomorrow.

This was the second time Torres’ at-bat was hit by fan interference in this World Series. With two outs in the ninth inning of Game 1 at Dodger Stadium, Torres hit a fly ball to left field, and a fan reached out and caught the ball. Torres got a double.

Torres then hit a three-run homer to right field for New York’s final runs.

Information from the Los Angeles Times was used in this report.