It’s one thing for a pitcher to hit a batter intentionally. It’s another thing altogether when the batter sees it coming.
Such was the case for Philadelphia Phillies veteran Nick Castellanos on Tuesday night. After getting hit with a 96-mph sinker in the Phillies’ 9-4 win over the Tampa Bay Rays, Castellanos voiced his displeasure with Tampa Bay pitcher Edwin Uceta for what he believed was an intentional beanball.
Wednesday, Uceta was suspended by Major League Baseball for three games and levied an undisclosed fine. Kevin Cash, the Rays’ manager, was suspended for Wednesday’s rematch as well, according to Mark Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times.
BREAKING: #Rays Uceta is being suspended 3 games and fined for his HBP vs. #Phillies, and has the right to appeal which could delay it. Cash is suspended for tonight’s game.
— Marc Topkin (@TBTimes_Rays) September 11, 2024
“I got into the box and I wasn’t even swinging because I thought there was a chance that could happen. I think that he was just pissed off that his numbers got messed up,” Castellanos told reporters after the game. “An overwhelming sense that I was about to get drilled. I can’t explain it. I know that he had pretty good numbers going into that. Just watching him, I could see him getting frustrated, and I was digging in, I’m like, I’m gonna take this pitch to see if he’s around the plate and it wasn’t anywhere near the plate.”
Uceta, 26, had a 0.75 earned-run average coming into the game. He had allowed only 19 hits, six walks and four runs in 36 innings across his first 24 appearances of the season.
PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA – SEPTEMBER 10: Bryce Harper #3 of the Philadelphia Phillies confronts members of the Tampa Bay Rays after teammate Nick Castellanos #8 is hit by a pitch during the eighth inning at Citizens Bank Park on September 10, 2024 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Edwin Uceta was suspended three games.
Tim Nwachukwu/Getty Images
Castellanos wasn’t kidding when he said Uceta’s “numbers got messed up.” When the Phillies scored three runs against him in the eighth inning, his ERA virtually doubled, rising to 1.49.
Phillies star Bryce Harper, standing on second base, had a sense for Uceta’s unerlying frustration, too. He ran in from the base to the pitcher’s mound, but did not engage Uceta directly. If Uceta had turned around to face him, Harper said, he would have fought Uceta.
Bryce Harper says he would have fought Tampa Bay pitcher Edwin Uceta if he had turned around.
“I didn’t want to be a loser and come up behind him. If he’s going to turn around, then all right, let’s go.”
“That’s not the game that we play, man. It shouldn’t be. Guys throw too… pic.twitter.com/8GNWw7xawx
— John Clark (@JClarkNBCS) September 11, 2024
“I didn’t want to be a loser and come up behind him. If he’s going to turn around, then all right, let’s go,” Harper told reporters. “That’s not the game that we play, man. 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.”
