Fireworks erupted in American Family Field Tuesday night, as the Milwaukee Brewers’ 8-2 victory over the Tampa Bay Rays was overshadowed by a dugout-clearing brawl. Lingering tension evolved into chaos, with ejections following and suspensions surely to come.
Brewers pitcher Abner Uribe had some words for Rays center fielder Jose Siri after stepping on first base to retire him in the eighth inning. As the reliever walks away, Siri seemingly fires back with a response. Trouble soon arises.
The two men draw closer to one another, and Uribe initiates the physical confrontation by throwing a strike at his fellow Dominican. Siri retaliates, causing madness to ensue. The umpires and players are unable to immediately diffuse the situation, but order is eventually restored.
Although it is not clear what was said between the two individuals, this incident did not exactly occur out of the blue. Siri crushed a 452-foot home run in the third inning, which he briefly admired, to give Tampa its first run of the game. A few innings later, starting pitcher Freddy Peralta hit the 28-year-old in the leg with a pitch on a 3-0 count. The 2021 All-Star was ejected without warning. Brewers manager Pat Murphy argued the umpire’s decision and was also tossed.
Usually, an officiating decision such as this one is intended to prevent a melee from breaking out. Well, no amount of firm discipline appeared to be sufficient on this night. Cooler heads did not prevail, and now an interleague rivalry might have just been born.
It will be interesting to see if there is a sequel to this face-off when the small-market clubs battle it out in the rubber match of this series on Wednesday. A controversy-filled week continues for the Brewers.
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