Tempers flared between the Philadelphia Phillies and Tampa Bay Rays Tuesday night after Nick Castellanos was drilled by a 96 mph sinker from Rays pitcher Edwin Uceta amid a 9-4 Phillies win. Castellanos exchanged words with Uceta after taking the pitch to the left hip, leading to both benches and bullpens pouring onto the Citizens Bank Park field. No punches were thrown.
Uceta entered the game in the bottom of the eighth with two runners on and one out of a tie game. He retired one of the six batters he faced, surrendering a pair of doubles and a home run that busted the contest open. It was an unusual spot for the 26-year-old who entered the game with a 0.75 ERA and hadn’t allowed an earned run since the last day of July.
Castellanos said he anticipated getting plunked. He was hit with the first pitch he saw and promptly reacted.
“I just told him that was bulls–t,” Castellanos said. “You know? You’re throwing a baseball over 90 miles an hour and you’re frustrated. You’re going to throw at somebody? That’s like my 2-year-old throwing a fit because I take away his dessert before he’s finished.”
Bryce Harper was among the first Phillies players to approach Uceta and was ready to escalate things into a physical altercation. He decided against it when the Rays pitcher did not show his face to Harper.
“That's not the game that we play, man,” Harper said, per ESPN. “It shouldn't be. Guys throw too hard nowadays. You're getting mad because a guy hits a homer off you or you blow the lead, walk the guy and come out of the game.
“The situation, the whole thing, just really fired me up, really upset me. Just not something you should accept as Major League Baseball.”
Phillies fired up amid hot stretch
The Phillies didn’t need a situation like the one Tuesday night to unfold to find extra motivation, but it might serve as a checkpoint in their quest for a World Series title. Philadelphia had been playing well leading to their latest win. The extracurriculars showed the Phils' confidence and chemistry.
Lost in the shuffle was an up-and-down night from Kyle Schwarber. The Phillies' designated hitter set an MLB record with his 14th leadoff home run of the season before exiting the game with a hyperextended elbow. He appears to have avoided serious injury, something the Phillies need at this point in the season.
As if Schwarber's historic feat or a near dust-up with the Rays wasn’t enough to get the City of Brotherly Love going, the Phils received timely hits from a few relative unknowns to help secure the victory. Cal Stevenson and Buddy Kennedy – who combined had 24 MLB at-bats this season entering Tuesday – drove in three runs off Uceta to spark the five-run rally.
The Phillies' magic number to clinch the NL East is 10 and they control their destiny for home-field advantage throughout the MLB playoffs. Philadelphia goes for the sweep against Tampa Bay Wednesday night with ace Zack Wheeler on the bump.
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