ST. LOUIS — For a second straight game, tempers flared at Busch Stadium, leading to another benches-clearing incident between the Padres and Cardinals — two teams vying for position in the National League playoff race.
Manny Machado and Willson Contreras were hit by pitches twice in the Padres’ 3-1 victory on Saturday night. After Machado was plunked by Andre Granillo’s 95.9 mph fastball in the ninth inning, he shouted animatedly toward the Cardinals right-hander, prompting both benches to clear.
Little came of the incident, other than some minor pushing and shoving and an ejection for Cardinals coach Jon Jay. But tensions were high on a muggy 93-degree night in St. Louis.
“It’s hot, it’s that time of year,” said Padres manager Mike Shildt. “Guys ain’t diggin’ it.”
Here’s a recap of the situation:
An array of hit by pitches
The bad blood started Friday night, when Contreras was plunked in the elbow guard by a fastball from Nick Pivetta. He stared in Pivetta’s direction, and the two began exchanging words, prompting benches to clear and warnings to be issued.
Nothing much came of that incident. But when Contreras was again hit Saturday in the fourth inning by Randy Vásquez’s 95.2 mph fastball, he was none too pleased. Contreras also was hit by Padres right-hander Joe Musgrove last season and missed a week of games.
“I’m pretty much fed up,” Contreras said. “… I’m not trying to get injured with a broken hand or a broken finger. Nobody will feel sorry for me, but that’s enough.”
The Padres more or less agreed. Vásquez apologized to Contreras immediately and made it clear it wasn’t intentional. The two shared a light-hearted embrace after the inning.
Nonetheless, Machado was due up first in the top half of the following inning, and guess what? He took a fastball from Cardinals left-hander Matthew Liberatore to the elbow guard. Machado coolly strolled to first base, and warnings were issued.
“The first one, obviously you kind of knew it was all coming, especially with what happened yesterday and the inning right before,” Machado said. “You kind of already know what’s going to happen. So you just take it, go to first, move on. We’re all good. … Then you get another one up and in.”
Benches clear
Machado clearly didn’t appreciate being hit the second time — the first time in his career he has been hit by a pitch twice in the same game. He shouted in Granillo’s direction, then had words for plate ump Lance Barrett. Granillo was not ejected, because Barrett deemed the hit-by-pitch unintentional.
Still, the benches and bullpens slowly emptied. Once dozens of ballplayers and coaches were on the field, some pushing and shoving ensued, after Jay had words for Machado.
Machado made it clear he didn’t think there was intent from Granillo on the pitch that caught him in the ninth. Granillo immediately flinched and raised both hands over his head when he released the ball.
“I know he probably doesn’t want to do that in that situation,” Machado said. “You see him, what he does, he kind of feels bad. [I’m] just pissed off, you know. It is what it is. There’s nothing to it. But then you’ve got somebody else coming up and yapping their mouth.”
Beef between Machado, Jay
Machado and Jay have a long history, having worked out together in the Miami area during offseasons, along with Machado’s brother-in-law Yonder Alonso. But that relationship has evidently soured.
“I know the real him,” Machado said, opaquely.
Asked to elaborate on that sentiment and what Jay said on the field, Machado replied: “That’s between me and him. I ain’t trying to make you guys write a story. That’s between me and him, and we’ll figure it out.”
Whatever Jay chirped, it sparked the feistiest part of the two benches-clearing incidents. Contreras intervened to hold Machado back, while Machado appeared to receive a shove from Cardinals pitcher Miles Mikolas.
Jay was ultimately the only person ejected, despite a total of six hit-by-pitches in the two-game span — three for each side. That total also included Jake Cronenworth being plunked in the second inning and Contreras being hit by Robert Suarez in the bottom of the ninth.
Contreras fairly obviously leaned into that 99.4 mph fastball — his National League-leading 17th hit by pitch of the season — as he was looking to reach base and bring the tying run to the plate. Nothing further came of that, and Suarez nailed down the save (albeit with a bit of a hard slide from Contreras into second base during the final out).
What’s next?
The Padres and Cardinals play the finale of their four-game series on Sunday afternoon at Busch Stadium, followed by a three-game series between the two at Petco Park next weekend. San Diego holds the final Wild Card spot in the National League, with St. Louis 2 1/2 games back.
“At the end of the day, you’ve just got a bunch of dudes playing baseball with a lot of passion, and no one likes getting hit,” said Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol. “It’s going to happen from time to time, but you’ve got two teams that are fighting hard for what’s next [with Wild Card positioning], and I don’t have an issue with it.”
Neither side was particularly pleased that one of its best hitters had been plunked multiple times. But both seemed to indicate the situation had settled.
“It’s over,” Shildt said. “Listen, we just like to play baseball. I know that group over there, they’re the same way. But no side is going to want to sit here and take it all day.”
