Francisco Cervelli says Colorado catcher Tony Wolters was looking for a fight, which helped spark a benches-clearing incident on Wednesday between the Pirates and Rockies.
Cervelli was hit by a pitch from Rockies pitcher German Marquez in the bottom of the fifth inning with his team down 3-0. The Pittsburgh catcher was slow to make it up the line and exchanged words with Wolters, leading the benches to eventually clear:
After German Marquez hits Francisco Cervelli with a pitch in the bottom of the 5th inning, the benches clear and tempers flare!!! pic.twitter.com/CmU3ORByRu
— TheRenderMLB (@TheRenderMLB) June 15, 2017
After the game, Cervelli indicated Wolters instigated things.
“After I got hit I looked at Marquez, and that’s it,” Cervelli said via the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette’s Bill Brink. “I was about to take off my gear, but Wolters started saying a lot of things, and I didn’t like it. … As a catcher, your job is avoid the fight and not just be talking and looking for a fight.”
The Pirates didn’t put up much of a fight on the field as they lost 5-1. It was Cervelli’s first game since returning from the 7-day concussion disabled list.
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