Padres' Nick Pivetta Calls Out Cardinals' Willson Contreras, MLB Umpires in Epic Rant

The San Diego Padres dropped their fourth game in a row in a frustrating contest against the St. Louis Cardinals on Friday.

Right-hander Nick Pivetta plucked Cardinals first baseman Willson Contreras on his elbow guard in the second inning, which led to an elongated stare down and choice words from the Cardinal, causing both benches and bullpens to swarm the field.

Pivetta spoke on Contreras, who has been hit by 15 pitches this season and struck by 77 since 2020 (where he led MLB with 14 HBP).

“He’s been doing that for years,” Pivetta said. “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. For him to, like, stare at me and try, at least I feel from my side, he’s trying to intimidate me into trying to do stuff. That’s the player that he is. Doesn’t mean that he’s a bad player. He’s a great player. He does play baseball very well, but I’m not going to back down.

“I’m going to go out and do my thing. I’m going to control the inside part of the plate, which I have been doing. I 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.”

Contreras appeared to be pulling back from the plate upon being hit by the errant pitch, but this didn't stop Pivetta's frustration with the umpires for issuing a warning to both teams.

“The game just got soft,” Pivetta said. “I mean, it’s the (second) inning. Nobody’s trying to hit anybody there. Trying to play baseball. Guys have all this gear nowadays. They’re all over the plate. I think it’s just umpires and the league getting in the way of what we’re trying to accomplish on both sides. I mean, it affected their team just as much as it affected our team.

“I think it’s just in those situations, they’ve got to be a little more cognizant of what’s going on in the game. The game has been a certain way for a long time, and they’re trying to change stuff. I just think it’s kind of brutal, you know, especially early in the game.”

Pivetta concluded his defense by stating that he had no intentions of hitting Contreras with his offering.

"Obviously nobody wants to hurt anybody out there, but there’s no malicious intent," he said.

"It’s just pitching in baseball. That’s all it is.”

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