Thrown-at Machado blasts Red Sox in epic post-game tirade
Balitmore Orioles third baseman Manny Machado went into an epic profanity-laden tirade on Tuesday night after Boston Red Sox ace Chris Sale threw behind him, saying he has lost all respect for the Red Sox organization.
“It’s (expletive)...’’ Machado said after the Red Sox’s 5-2 victory. “It’s coward stuff. I mean, that stuff you don’t (expletive) do, but I’m not that side.
“I’ve lost my respect for that organization, for that coaching staff, for everyone over there.”
Sale’s first pitch to Machado in the first inning was thrown behind him, in retaliation to Orioles pitcher Dylan Bundy hitting Red Sox outfielder Mookie Betts on Monday, in retaliation to Red Sox reliever Matt Barnes throwing at Machado’s head on April 23, and in retaliation to Machado’s hard slide on April 21 that injured Red Sox second baseman Dustin Pedroia.
Home-plate umpire D.J. Reyburn immediately issued a warning to both benches, letting them know the next one to throw a purpose pitch would be ejected, infuriating Orioles manager Buck Showalter.
“They’re still thinking the slide that I did when I had no intention of hurting anybody,’’ Machado said. “And I’m still trying to get hit at. Thrown at my (expletive) head. (Expletive) thrown at everywhere. (Expletive) bull...
“If you’re going to (expletive) hit me, go ahead, (expletive) hit me. You know, don’t let (expletive) keep lingering around and (expletive) around. Keep (expletive) trying to hit people. That’s (expletive) bull.
“MLB should do something about it. (Expletive) pitchers go out there with their (expletive) balls in their hand and throwing 100 mph trying to hit people. I got a (expletive) bat too. I can go up there and crush somebody if I wanted to, but you know what, I’ll get suspended for the year and the pitcher will only get suspended for two games. That’s not cool.’’
Sale, 2-2, 1.38 ERA, said he simply was trying to be competitive while Red Sox manager John Farrell insisted it was simply a pitch that got away.
“He was going in with a fastball and pulled it in,’’ Farrell said. “He threw 115 pitches tonight. I don’t know that you can hit the spot every single time you throw the baseball.’’
Certainly, no one on the Orioles bought it, least of all Machado, who was asked whether he believed Sale should be suspended.
“I don’t know, that’s not my call,’’ Machado said. “I play baseball. That’s all I can control. They got to do something about it. If you’re going to hit somebody, go ahead and hit them. It’s (expletive) bull…’’
Machado got his revenge in the seventh inning when he homered off Sale, his sixth of the season, but it was hardly enough to soothe him.
“The two teams resumed the series Wednesday night at Fenway Park, completing the four-game series Thursday, and still have 10 games against one another this season. Stay tuned. It’s a feud that refuses to go away. (USA Today/TNS)
Dodgers 13, Giants 5
Franklin Gutierrez homered in his first at-bat off the disabled list, and Yasiel Puig drove in four runs to lead Los Angeles.
Rookie Cody Bellinger had three RBIs for the Dodgers, who defeated San Francisco for the 11th time in the past 15 meetings at home. Puig went 3-for5, while Gutierrez was 1-for-3 with two RBIs. Justin Turner also drove in two runs.
Cubs 8, Phillies 3
Kyle Schwarber clubbed a three-run homer while Kris Bryant and Javier Baez each added solo shots as Chicago defeated Philadelphia.
Baez also tripled and had a career-high four hits as the Cubs snapped a two-game losing streak. Schwarber went 1-for-5 with his first home run since April 18 while Bryant was 2-for-4 with his fifth homer and first triple.
Chicago’s Jon Lester (1-1) worked five innings for his first win after four no-decisions and a loss while improving to 7-0 alltime against the Phillies.
Tigers 5, Indians 2
Miguel Cabrera hit a two-run homer in his return from the disabled list and Detroit won its third straight game.
Cabrera, who hit his sixth career homer off Cleveland ace Corey Kluber, missed the previous nine games with a right groin strain. He was removed prior to the eighth inning after going 1-for-4.
Kluber (3-2) lasted three innings, surrendering five runs on seven hits before leaving with lower back discomfort. The Tigers’ Justin Verlander (2-2) tossed seven innings, allowing two runs on four hits while walking four and striking out five.
Braves 9, Mets 7
Atlanta got the best of Matt Harvey for the second time in less than a week, again scoring six runs against the New York righthander en route to victory.
Ender Inciarte had three hits and drove in three runs, and Freddie Freeman belted his 10th homer of the season. Jay Bruce made it close as he blasted a grand slam -- his second homer of the game – with two outs in the ninth.
Braves starter R.A. Dickey gave up a two-run homer to Bruce and a bases-empty blast to Asdrubal Cabrera on fastballs, but that was the only damage as the knuckleballer improved to 4-0 against the team he won a NL Cy Young Award with in 2012.