Cubs-Diamondbacks get into it over slide, HBP
The Chicago Cubs and Arizona Diamondbacks got into it on Tuesday night over a sequence of tense events between the teams.
In the top of the seventh inning, Steven Souza Jr. was thrown out at second trying to stretch a single into a double. Cubs second baseman Javy Baez tagged him out at the base but was standing in the basepath, so when Souza slid into the bag, he collided with Baez.
I get that the #Cubs are mad that Baez had to leave the game but where was #Dbacks Souza supposed to slide here? pic.twitter.com/FpWkUBzrFX
— Mark McClune (@MarkMcClune) July 25, 2018
Though Souza showed immediate concern over the collision, the Cubs were still bothered by what happened.
When Souza came up to bat in the ninth, Cubs reliever Steve Cishek hit him with a pitch. Souza then complained about it to first baseman Anthony Rizzo, leading to conversations between both sides.
Hitting Souza with the pitch seemed completely unnecessary, especially when you consider that Baez left him nowhere to slide and that Souza immediately felt bad about the contact. Arizona won the game 5-1. Don’t be surprised if they address things in Wednesday’s game.