Madison Bumgarner denied throwing at Ryan Braun intentionally despite hitting him with a pitch that led to benches clearing between the Milwaukee Brewers and San Francisco Giants on Sunday.
Bumgarner threw two pitches high and/or inside on Braun in a row during the bottom of the sixth and then hit him with the third pitch. Players spilled out onto the field after Braun was hit, while Craig Counsell and Wade Miley were ejected from the game. The next batter was Jonathan Schoop, who hit a game-changing grand slam.
Counsell made it clear after the game that he thought Bumgarner hit Braun intentionally, while the Giants denied that, saying the pitcher was just trying to challenge a dangerous hitter inside.
Bumgarner denied throwing at Braun: "I know what kind of hitter he is and he seems to see me pretty well, so I know if it leaks back out over the plate, he's going to have a chance to do some damage."
— Tom (@Haudricourt) September 9, 2018
Giants manager Bruce Bochy on Braun HBP: "He is swinging the bat well so [Bumgarner] is trying to make adjustments. That's what he's trying to do. The game's on the line. He's not trying to hit him, he's trying to get him out by being aggressive inside. That's baseball."
— Tom (@Haudricourt) September 9, 2018
Braun felt Bumgarner was throwing at him and thinks it had to do with a comment made after Braun’s second at-bat in the game.
Ryan Braun said MadBum may have taken issue with a comment Braun made after his second AB. "I jogged by him and I think maybe he thought I said something that I didn’t say. I told him good pitch, good battle something like that, and maybe he misunderstood me. I don’t know."
— Todd Rosiak (@Todd_Rosiak) September 9, 2018
Braun and the Brewers got the last laugh with a 6-3 win and have the second-best record in the NL.
