Manny Machado begins feud with Padres

A playoff game between the San Diego Padres and the Los Angeles Dodgers turned ugly Monday night when Padres player Manny Machado threw a baseball towards the Dodgers’ dugout, sparking a heated feud between both teams.

The ball hit the railing of the dugout fence just under the face of Dodgers manager Dave Roberts. Machado threw the ball towards the dugout after Dodgers pitcher Jack Flaherty hit Padres player Fernando Tatis Jr. with a 92-mph pitch during his at-bat in the sixth inning. It is unknown whether Flaherty’s hit was intentional or not, as Tatis had just hit a home run off of the pitcher, as well as stealing a line drive from Shohei Ohtani in the bottom of the fourth inning.

At the top of the sixth inning, Machado stepped up to the plate with two men on base and no outs, including Tatis who was previously hit and now maintains the scoring position on second base.

After Machado struck out in the top of the sixth, Flaherty and the Padres dugout exchanged vulgar insults with one another. Soon after, Flaherty came out and Machado made his throw towards the Dodger dugout. This would normally be considered typical behavior of a third baseman, as the ballboy in Dodger stadium prepared to retrieve the ball within the dugout. However, it was the intensity at which the ball was thrown that upset Dodgers players, coaches and fans.

Roberts told reporters, “It was unsettling, Obviously I have a relationship with Manny from years past. There was intent behind it. It didn’t almost hit me because there was a net. And that was very bothersome. If it was intended at me, I would be very it’s pretty disrespectful. So, I don’t know his intent. I don’t want to speak for him. But I did see the video. And the ball was directed at me with something behind it. But I don’t know what led to that.”

Mike Shildt, manager for the Padres, clarified that he did not believe that there was any intent behind Machado’s actions towards the dugout. Machado also told reporters that he was just returning the ball to the ball boy as one normally would.

The Padres and the Dodgers are set to play game four of their division series on Thursday night in San Diego at 9:08 p.m. Eastern Standard Time.

 

bkeatin1@ramapo.edu

 

Featured photo courtesy of @mannymachado, Instagram