That's childish behavior.
Nick Castellanos slammed Rays relief pitcher Edwin Uceta for acting like a toddler after receiving a pitch following the Phillies' 9-4 win over Uceta on Tuesday.
Uceta came in to pitch with the game tied, 4-4, but gave up five runs (two of which came off a reliever) before hitting Castellanos with a 96 mph sinker that ejected Uceta and cleared the benches.
“So I told him that's bullshit. You're throwing a baseball at 90-plus miles per hour, and you're frustrated and you throw it at somebody, you know?,” Castellanos said. “That's like your 2-year-old throwing a tantrum because you took his dessert away before he finished it.”
Things got out of hand on Tuesday night when Uceta came to the mound with one out and runners on second and third and the score tied, as the Phillies gave him a less-than-brotherly welcome.
Cal Stevenson greeted Uceta with a two-run double, then Buddy Kennedy added a one-run single and Trea Turner rounded out the scoring with a two-run homer.
After Turner's home run, Bryce Harper doubled, then Uceta hit Castellanos in the left hip with the next pitch, something the veteran outfielder expected.
“I had this overwhelming feeling that I was about to be drilled into,” Castellanos said. According to the Associated Press“We all knew what it was. He was upset that he was getting hit so much and his ERA was skyrocketing.”
Castellanos pointed toward Uceta, then dropped his bat and reached over to question the pitcher, but the benches quickly emptied.
Uceta said he did not intentionally hit Castellanos but claimed he threw an off-speed pitch, which MLB.com classifies as a two-seam fastball.
“It was a pretty tough situation,” Uceta said through a translator. “I was struggling a little bit, so I was trying to figure out where I was going to pitch. My changeup went a little wide and it obviously hit him. I wasn't trying to get him to hit it on purpose.”
Harper began to run toward Uceta, but was guarded by two Rays players, while Tampa catcher Logan Driscoll and umpire John Rybka prevented Castellanos from charging toward Uceta.
The two-time MVP made it clear he won't be taking any surprise moves against pitchers.
“He didn't look back. I didn't want to be the underdog and I didn't want to get behind him,” Harper said. “If he was going to look back, fine, I'll go. But he didn't look back, so I didn't want to be the underdog.”
But Harper had no problem condemning Uceta's actions.
Rays manager Kevin Cash said he would discuss the situation with Uceta and “our young guys.” According to MLB.com:.
“He hit it on purpose,” Harper said. “This is not the game we play, this is not the way it should be. Guys throw too many fastballs these days. How can you get mad just because you give up a home run or you lose a lead or you get on base on a walk? This whole situation, this whole thing really pisses me off, really upsets me. It's not something that should be accepted in major league baseball.”
Castellanos was 0-for-4 as the winning pitcher, and the Phillies moved into first place in the National League East, eight games ahead of the Mets and Braves, with 17 games remaining this season.
The right fielder also admitted to taking his son's dessert away before he finished eating it.
“Of course,” he said, laughing, “Otto can't eat much ice cream and cake.”
