Padres, Cardinals clear benches for second straight game after unintentional hit-by-pitch

New York Times

27-07-2025

ST. LOUIS — Tempers flared Saturday between the St. Louis Cardinals and San Diego Padres when, for a second consecutive game, the benches and bullpens cleared after what appeared to be an unintentional hit-by-pitch.
Padres third baseman Manny Machado said after a 3-1 San Diego win that he and Cardinals coach Jon Jay are 'absolutely not' friends. The declaration came after the two Miami-area natives exchanged words on the field during a ninth inning in which Machado was hit for the second time in the game, this time by a ninth-inning pitch from Cardinals rookie Andre Granillo.
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'I mean, poor kid. … I know he probably doesn't want to do that in that situation. Obviously, you see him, what he does. He just kind of feels bad,' Machado said. 'You're just pissed off, you know? It is what it is. I mean, there was nothing to it. But then you got somebody else coming up and yapping their mouth. That's when s— starts getting real.'
Benches clear in St. Louis after Manny Machado was hit for the second time tonight pic.twitter.com/oUCnqoy7dP
— Jomboy Media (@JomboyMedia) July 27, 2025
Despite warnings issued to both teams earlier in the game, home-plate umpire Lance Barrett deemed Granillo did not intentionally throw at Machado, and he was permitted to remain in the game. Jay was ejected.
The warnings were issued in the top of the fifth, after Cardinals starter Matthew Liberatore led off the inning by hitting Machado in apparent response to what Padres starter Randy Vásquez described as an unintentional, fourth-inning plunking of Cardinals first baseman Willson Contreras.
That hit-by-pitch drew an angry reaction from Contreras, whom Padres starter Nick Pivetta hit the previous day. It also came two innings after Liberatore unintentionally hit Padres infielder Jake Cronenworth.
Machado, the Padres' franchise third baseman, said after Saturday's game that he was not surprised when Liberatore hit him. 'You just take it, go to first, move on,' Machado said. 'You know, we're all good.'
He explained his reaction to Granillo's ninth-inning pitch — Machado cursed and glared toward the mound after a 95.9 mph fastball grazed his hand — by saying he did not enjoy the experience of being hit multiple times in a game for the first time in his career.
As he continued to fume on his way to first base, both benches and bullpens spilled onto the field. Contreras attempted to calm Machado, who appeared to relax. Then, Jay said something to Machado, Machado yelled at the Cardinals coach and momentary jostling ensued.
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The scene was noteworthy because Machado and Jay once shared a public friendship.
'We call ourselves the 305 Boys,' Machado told ESPN in 2016. 'It's a tight group: me, Jon Jay, Yonder Alonso, Gaby Sanchez.'
Asked by ESPN to describe a perfect day in Miami for the group, Machado said it would include a visit to Jay's house, 'which is a boy's dream — he has every toy possible there. We'll Jet Ski. We like to paddleboard. We might play some dominoes.'
Late Saturday, however, Machado scoffed when presented with the perception that his friendship with Jay remained intact.
'Yeah, right,' Machado said. 'I know the real him.'
When a reporter asked him to clarify whether they were still close, Machado said: 'No. Absolutely not.' He declined to share the reason as well as what Jay had said to him on the field.
'I was just having my team's back, but I'm a coach, and I shouldn't have said anything,' Jay said, declining to comment on further specifics.
Alonso, Machado's brother-in-law and a former teammate of Jay's for the Chicago White Sox and the University of Miami, posted a cryptic message Saturday night on X.
🐀
— Yonder Alonso (@YonderalonsoU) July 27, 2025
Contreras, who has been hit a National League-high 17 times this year, has vocalized his displeasure regarding the uptick in hit-by-pitches several times this season. He said he knew Vásquez did not hit him intentionally but things were 'getting old.'
'Pretty much fed up,' Contreras said. 'I'm not trying to get injured or a broken hand, broken finger. That's enough. I know they're not trying to hit me on purpose, but when you get hit on the wrist like I did tonight, it's really scary.
'We've been playing against the San Diego Padres for a long time, and we've never had beef like that. But I already have 17 hit-by-pitches, and every pitch seems close to my hand. Last year, (Padres starting pitcher Joe Musgrove) almost broke my hand (with a hit-by-pitch) in April. Then, in August, I broke my finger by being hit by a pitch.'
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Vásquez said he apologized to Contreras on the field.
'I just told him, 'Hey, that was a bad pitch on my standpoint,'' Vásquez said through team interpreter Jorge Merlos. 'It wasn't intentional as well. I really don't like hitting batters, either. I just told him, 'Hey, I'm sorry.''
Five innings later, Contreras was the one trying to ease tensions.
'I was talking to Manny and saying that was not on purpose,' Contreras explained. 'It was the second time he got hit, but it was an 0-2 count. (Granillo) is a new guy; he's not trying to hit you. And (Barrett) told him that he didn't think it was on purpose. If he thought otherwise, he would have thrown out Granillo.'
Barrett also did not hand out an ejection in the bottom of the ninth when Padres closer Robert Suarez grazed Contreras with an 0-2 fastball.
'Having everybody's back like we did tonight, I think that's the right way,' Contreras said. 'Hopefully, it ends there.'
At least some of the tension started in Friday's second inning when Pivetta hit Contreras, the two exchanged words and the benches cleared. Order was quickly restored.
'He's been doing that for years. I think he thinks that he owns a certain part of the plate. I mean, it's a fastball, and I don't hit very many guys,' Pivetta said after Friday's game. 'For him to, like, stare at me and, at least I feel from my side, try to intimidate me and try to do stuff, that's the player that he is. It doesn't mean that he's a bad player. He's a great player. He plays baseball very well.
'But I'm not gonna back down. I'm gonna go out and do my thing. I'm gonna control the inside part of the plate, which I have been doing. And it hit him on the elbow guard. I mean, I haven't gone back and looked at it, but I could probably guess that he was probably diving over the plate a little bit.'
The Cardinals and Padres are scheduled to play four more times in the next seven days, with St. Louis headed to San Diego for a three-game series beginning Friday.