Benches Clear After Tampa Bay Rays Plunk Philadelphia Phillies' Nick Castellanos

Tampa Bay Rays reliever Edwin Uceta hit Philadelphia Phillies outfielder Nick Castellanos with a pitch in the eighth inning Tuesday night, leading to a benches-clearing altercation and an ejection.

Sep 10, 2024; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia Phillies outfielder Nick Castellanos (8) reacts after getting hit by a pitch during the eighth inning against the Tampa Bay Rays at Citizens Bank Park. / Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-Imagn Images

The Tampa Bay Rays were hanging around with the Philadelphia Phillies on Tuesday night, until everything fell apart in the bottom of the eighth inning.

Veteran reliever Richard Lovelady, who got the final out of the seventh, came back out for the following frame with the score tied 4-4. After forcing a groundout and giving up a walk and a double, Lovelady got the hook in favor of Edwin Uceta.

Uceta immediately let both inherited runners score on a double from Cal Stevenson. Buddy Kennedy drove in Stevenson two batters later, then Trea Turner continued the onslaught with a two-run home run.

Even with the Phillies leading 9-4, the collapse didn't stop there.

Uceta stayed in the game and let Bryce Harper smack a double to left. That brought up Nick Castellanos, who was the only Phillies player who had yet to log a plate appearance that inning.

On the first pitch of the at-bat, Uceta hit Castellanos in the hip with a 96 mile-per-hour sinker.

Castellanos started to yell at Uceta on his way down to first, while Harper marched towards the mound from behind. Both benches and bullpens cleared, and pushing and shoving ensued.

Uceta was ultimately ejected. His replacement, Hunter Bigge, punched out Bryson Slott to escape the two-man jam in short order.

Benches clear in Philadelphia between the Phillies and the Rays. pic.twitter.com/KkdmS9AmZS

— MLB (@MLB) September 11, 2024

The Phillies held on to win 9-4, giving them the best record in baseball at 87-58. The Rays, meanwhile, dropped to 71-74 and are on pace to miss the postseason for the first time since 2018.

Philadelphia and Tampa Bay are scheduled to close out their three-game series at 6:40 p.m. ET on Wednesday. A sweep remains on the table for the Phillies, who are 8-2 in their last 10 games.

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