Houston Astros stars Jose Altuve and Alex Bregman were hit by pitches in consecutive at-bats during Tuesday’s scrimmage against the Kansas City Royals. Is that a sign of things to come this season? Maybe, but in this case it seems highly unlikely that it was intentional.
Altuve and Bregman were both hit by pitches from Royals right-hander Jorge Lopez in the second inning. The bases were loaded each time, and the pitches looked more like they simply got away from Lopez. See for yourself:
Altuve and Bregman were just hit by pitches pic.twitter.com/jn9rbE8quD
— 2020 Astros Shame Tour (@AsteriskTour) July 21, 2020
On one hand, you could say there is no better time to throw at Astros hitters than during a meaningless game with the bases loaded. The game doesn’t count, so giving up the runs isn’t costly. Plunking Altuve and Bregman with the bases loaded also removes some of the suspicion because, well, who would do that?
All that said, it just wouldn’t have made sense for Lopez to hit consecutive batters in that spot. The 27-year-old is coming off a rough season in which he compiled a 6.33 ERA in 39 appearances. His only focus should be proving to the Royals that he is worthy of a bullpen spot, not sending messages to Astros players because of their cheating scandal.
Bregman has unintentionally advocated for him and his teammates to be thrown at this season, so it would not be a surprise if it happens at some point. We’re fairly certain Lopez wasn’t trying to be the first to do it.
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