The Blue Jays beat the Orioles 13-6 on Tuesday, but the final score wasn’t the only ugly thing about the game. During the 7th inning, Adam Jones and Jose Bautista got into a war of words that continued between innings.
With a runner on second base, Jason Garcia threw behind Bautista, which obviously did not sit well with the Blue Jays slugger. A couple of pitches later, Bautista launched a home run. What followed was Bautista enjoying his blast at home plate, a bat flip, a slow trot around the bases, and a few words for Ryan Flaherty as he rounded second base.
After the game, Bautista wasn’t shy about expressing his feelings on what transpired. He even took a jab at Orioles manager Buck Showalter.
Jose Bautista: "You throw at me, I’m not going to forget. And if I get you right after, then I’m going to enjoy it and I did.”
— John Lott (@LottOnBaseball) April 22, 2015
Bautista blames Showalter for #Orioles’ “premeditated” throwing at #BlueJays batters. (1/2)
— John Lott (@LottOnBaseball) April 22, 2015
Bautista: on O’s: "I think they hide behind the way that their manager acts and conducts himself on the field.” (2/2)
— John Lott (@LottOnBaseball) April 22, 2015
Bautista: "For a team that …whines so much when their guys get pitched inside, they should manage their pitching a little bit better."
— John Lott (@LottOnBaseball) April 22, 2015
Nothing like a few postgame shots to enhance a division rivalry. The two teams meet again Wednesday and Thursday. We can only hope there isn’t a repeat of the beanball war that took place this past weekend between the Royals and A’s.
