Castellanos ejected as Cardinals, Reds renew their heated rivalry

Nick Castellanos stood over and jawed at St. Louis pitcher Jake Woodford after scoring Saturday, setting off a series of scuffles between the Cincinnati Reds and Cardinals that included relievers shoving in the outfield on theirway back to the bullpen.

Castellanos, who homered on opening day and flipped his bat, was plunked by Woodford with two outs and noneon in the fourth inning.

A wild pitch soon sent Castellanos scampering home from third and he scored with a headfirst slide, bumping into Woodford who took the throw from catcher Yadier Molina at the plate. Castellanos stood over, flexed and jawed at the St. Louis pitcher.

As Castellanos began walking away, Molina rushed up and tapped him frombehind, and the benches and bullpens emptied in a wildscene.

The COVID-19 protocols forbid such events on the field, and suspensions could follow for members of both teams as a result. The league will review reports and video fromthe incident.

Angels

Reliever Ty Buttrey retired from baseball, saying he’s lost his affection for the game. The right-hander was one of the key pieces of the Angels bullpen the past three seasons, but he struggled with control problems in spring training and was optioned to the team’s alternate training site.

Athletics

Oakland is still searching for its first win of the 2021 season. They didn’t come much closer to one in Saturday’s 9-1 loss to Houston. They’re now 0-3 to start a season for the first time since the 1996 season and have scored a total of sevenruns.

Twins

Minnesota placed third baseman Josh Donaldson on the 10-day injured list with a mildright hamstring strain.