Former Dodgers Pitcher Suspended For Intentionally Throwing at Phillies

Jeremy Hanna | Sep 12, 2024

May 23, 2021; San Francisco, California, USA; Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Edwin Uceta (92) walks off the field after being pulled for a reliever during the eighth inning against the San Francisco Giants at Oracle Park. Mandatory Credit: D. Ross Cameron-Imagn Images / D. Ross Cameron-Imagn Images

Yesterday's game between the Philadelphia Phillies and Tampa Bay Rays took a turn for the worse when pitcher Edwin Uceta intentionally hit right fielder Nick Castellanos with a 96-mph sinker.

"I got into the box and I wasn't even swinging because I thought there was a chance that could happen. I think that he was just p***ed off that his numbers got messed up," Castellanos told reporters.

"An overwhelming sense that I was about to get drilled. I can't explain it. I know that he had pretty good numbers going into that. Just watching him, I could see him getting frustrated, and I was digging in, I'm like, I'm gonna take this pitch to see if he's around the plate and it wasn't anywhere near the plate."

Uceta, who made his MLB debut with the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2021, had a 0.75 ERA heading into the game. Wednesday, MLB suspended Uceta for three games. The suspension was later reduced to two games.

Uceta's ERA nearly doubled to 1.49 after the Phillies scored three runs against him in the eighth inning.

"We all kinda got a sense of what it was, that he was just p***ed off that he got hit around and his ERA shot through the roof," Castellanos continued. "I think Bryce [Harper] kinda felt the same thing that I did. That wasn't even close."

After being hit, Castellanos immediately called Uceta out from the plate after being restrained by home plate umpire John Libka.

"I just told him that was bull****," Castellanos said. "You're throwing a baseball over 90 mph and you're frustrated and you're gonna throw at somebody? That's like my two-year-old throwing a fit because I take away his dessert before he's finished."

Harper, who was on second base, was not restrained. He moved toward the mound, but never threw a punch because Uceta never faced him. Players from both sides cleared the benches to get between the two.

Bryce Harper says he would have fought Tampa Bay pitcher Edwin Uceta if he had turned around.

"I didn't want to be a loser and come up behind him. If he's going to turn around, then all right, let's go."

"That's not the game that we play, man. It shouldn't be. Guys throw too… pic.twitter.com/8GNWw7xawx

— John Clark (@JClarkNBCS) September 11, 2024

"I didn't want to be a loser and come up behind him," Harper said after the game. "If he's going to turn around, then all right, let's go. That's not the game that we play, man. It shouldn't be. Guys throw too hard nowadays. You're getting mad because a guy hits a homer off you or you blow the lead, walk the guy, and come out of the game."

"The situation, the whole thing, just really fired me up, really upset me. Just not something you should accept as Major League Baseball."

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