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The St. Louis Cardinals' game against the San Diego Padres on Friday turned into an intense battle after Willson Contreras was hit by Nick Pivetta's pitch.
During the second inning at Busch Stadium, Pivetta's fastball struck Contreras on the inside of his elbow. Contreras stared down the Padres ace and they exchanged a few words before the benches cleared.
"Got hit for the 15th time," the MLB broadcaster said.•
Padres catcher Elias Díaz stepped in to defuse the situation as the bullpen joined both benches on the field. Both teams received warnings after the incident.
Following the game, Pivetta said his pitch wasn't intentional, but he wasn't going back down after Contreras stared him down.
“I don’t hit very many guys,” Pivetta said. “For him to stare at me and, I feel like, from my side, try to intimidate me … I’m not going to back down. I’m going to go out and do my thing. I’m going to control the inside part of the plate. It’s the [second] inning; nobody’s trying to hit anybody there. We’re trying to play baseball.”Pivetta, who has been sublime for the Padres in his first year with the team, conceded three runs on three hits in 6 1/3 innings, recording his first loss since May 23.
Padres manager Mike Shildt understands Willson Contreras' frustration
Padres manager Mike Shildt, who managed the Cardinals for four seasons, backed his starter after the benches-clearing incident that led to St. Louis scoring a run in the second inning.
"If you get hit, you're not going to feel good about it," Shildt said. "For me, it's not much ado about nothing, because there was a ball thrown in the '90s that you get hit by, and that can't feel good. "There's a reaction to it. I'm confident to know there was zero intent to do that, but I understand exception takes place. And once he takes the exception, now we got both sides that are going to come out and see what's going on."Cardinals shortstop Masyn Winn, who scored a two-run double in the team's 3-0 win, said Willson Contreras was just trying to "get the team going."
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Edited by Chaitanya Prakash
English (US)