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. 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.
