Amir Garrett was at the center of a massive brawl that broke out between the Cincinnati Reds and Pittsburgh Pirates on Tuesday night, and at least one of his opponents was not surprised that it was the reliever who was responsible for things really getting out of hand.
Following his team’s 11-4 win, Pirates pitcher Joe Musgrove ripped Garrett for his antics and said he cares more about fighting than playing baseball.
Joe Musgrove: “It seems like every time Amir gets on the field, he’s looking to fight, not looking to play baseball. It was extremely uncalled for. The way he went about it, I think, was extremely wrong.”
— Adam Berry (@adamdberry) July 31, 2019
There were reports that someone from the Pirates dugout yelled something to Garrett, but the Pittsburgh side says Garrett is the one who cursed at Josh Bell as soon as he took the mound in the ninth inning. Garrett then charged toward the Reds dugout and began throwing haymakers.
The Pirates and Reds are two teams that clearly do not like each other, and Garrett was one of several players who were ejected during an April brawl that started after Pittsburgh pitcher Chris Archer threw behind Derek Dietrich.
Musgrove was also critical of Reds manager David Bell for being the “ringleader” of his team’s antics. Bell had been ejected in the eighth inning on Tuesday for defending Yasiel Puig following a third strike call with the bases loaded, but that didn’t stop him from coming back onto the field during the brawl and shoving Pirates manager Clint Hurdle.
Major League Baseball has plenty to sort through following the latest Reds-Pirates melee. It’s no surprise there is plenty of finger-pointing going around, but there will be suspensions and fines on both sides.
