The Washington Nationals saw a little dustup in their dugout on Friday when pitcher MacKenzie Gore and third baseman Nick Senzel exchanged some words and then some shoves. It’s something former closer Jonathan Papelbon knows a little bit about.
Papelbon, of course, infamously scuffled with then-teammate Bryce Harper back in 2015. The closer attempted to grab Harper’s neck before teammates pulled them apart with the Nationals opting to suspend Papelbon for four games. It tore the team apart as they missed the playoffs and later saw manager Matt Williams fired.
With that history in mind, Papelbon took to X, formerly known as Twitter, with some sage advice for Gore and Senzel.
Boys it’s a lot better if you just take the fight to the tunnel. Trust me I have already learned this lesson!! 😂😂🤺 https://t.co/JalukPUBY3
— Jonathan Papelbon (@TheRealJPap58) June 15, 2024
Although Papelbon clearly went with a tongue-in-cheek approach to the exchange, the Nationals should have some level of concern over it. Gore’s reaction to Senzel mishandling a ground ball in the second inning, which started the whole thing, was a bit over-the-top, and the anger was unwarranted. It may have cost Washington a run but it was hardly a routine play.
Still, manager Dave Martinez chose to downplay it.
“They hugged each other,” said Martinez, via MLB.com. “It’s not the first time I’ve seen that happen. I could tell you this: I’ve been on some really good teams where guys get after it and everything was OK. Like I said before, this is a competitive game and sometimes, within one another, it gets that way. But they worked it out.”
Gore, meanwhile, accepted responsibility for the exchange.
“We’ve handled it in here,” said Gore. “I think the biggest [thing] is that that was something that I can’t do. But I’m going to leave it at that. That’s on me.”
It worked out because the Nationals ultimately walked away with an 8-1 victory. That may not be the case next time, as Papelbon can atest.
