How to determine with absolute confidence whether a baseball player was purposely hit by a pitch is one of the most contentious issues in baseball.
The Padres and Cardinals are having a second consecutive night of bench clearing extracurricular activities because Manny Machado and Willson Contreras appear to have a pretty good understanding they’re being used as target practice. In the midst of all the bean ball antics, it’s easy to forget that the Padres won 3-1 on Saturday in a game when Bryce Johnson, of all people, was the offensive highlight.
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Not exactly when one would go after an opposing hitter, San Diego starter Randy Vasquez hit Contreras with a fastball on a 2-2 pitch in the fourth inning. Vasquez said that it was an accident to Contreras. But on Friday night, Contreras was also hit—a beaning he strongly objected to—and the benches cleared as there was more chirping than pushing on both sides. When you added those up, St. Louis believed that someone had to foot the bill.
Machado was that person. When Matt Liberatore hit Manny in the arm with the first pitch of the following inning, the San Diego star took it as a necessary part of the game. But Machado became enraged when Andre Granillo hit him again in the ninth inning.
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Like yelling crazy with a four-letter word.
After Manny Machado was struck for the second time tonight, St. Louis benches were cleared.tweet.com/oUCnqoy7dP
The benches did indeed clear once more, and this time it seemed as though things would get more serious than a mere dispute. Ironically, Contreras was the one who escorted Machado away in order to temporarily quell the ferocious emotions. These clubs will play three more games at Petco Park the following weekend after their final matchup in Missouri on Sunday afternoon.
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While the Padres had a chance to split the series in St. Louis with Stephen Kolek on the mound against Michael McGreevy, the four horsemen of Adrian Morejon, Jeremiah Estrada, Jason Adam, and Robert Suarez combined for 4.1 shutout innings. Johnson had two hits, drove in a run, and scored another to pace the offense.
