Cincinnati Reds striker Nick Castellanos was suspended for two games for his actions on Saturday, leading to a compensation fight with the St. Louis Cardinals.
Castellanos, who appeals the suspension, was not the only player to be penalized, as he and five others were also fined.
The drama really started on Thursday, opening day, when the Reds’ right defender hit a home run and jumped out of the box before launching his baton. After a bad day for the teams on Friday, Castellanos was hit by a pitch from Cardinals reliever Jake Woodford in the fourth game on Saturday.
Unperturbed by the blow, Castellanos recovered the ball and offered to throw it back to Woodford before throwing it out of the game. When Castellanos came around to score in a wild throw at the end of the inning, he slipped and ran into Woodford, who was covering the home plate, then stood up, shouted and flexed in front of the pitcher.
When Castellanos started to walk away, catcher Yadier Molina ran and hit him from behind, and the benches and bulls emptied out. Only Castellanos was sent off, as head of the referee team Jim Reynolds said Castellanos “unnecessarily engaged the pitcher again” after sliding home.
“I’m not here to disrespect anyone or anything, but I want to win,” said Castellanos after Saturday’s 9-6 victory.
St. Louis manager Mike Shildt saw it differently.
“There is no need to stand on someone and insult someone,” said Shildt.
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.