Rick Porcello didn’t make many mistakes Monday night, but Manny Machado clearly didn’t like one of them.
Porcello pitched a brilliant outing for the Boston Red Sox, throwing just 89 pitches over nine innings to lead his team to a 5-2 win over the Baltimore Orioles at Camden Yards. The right-hander was highly efficient, walking no one while striking out seven. He temporarily lost control in the fourth inning, though, hitting Machado in the shoulder with an 0-1 fastball.
Porcello had no reason to throw at Machado, but the Orioles third baseman surprisingly took offense, glaring at the Red Sox pitcher before jawing at him as he made his way down to first base.
[mlbvideo id=”1175963083″ width=”640″ height=”358″ /]
Porcello understandably was perplexed by Machado’s reaction. After all, the Cy Young Award candidate had a perfect game intact before Machado’s at-bat, and the last thing he wanted to do was put Machado on in a two-run game with Mark Trumbo, Major League Baseball’s home run leader, on deck.
So, Porcello decided to tell Machado as much. (Warning: If you can read lips, this is NSFW.)
Trumbo actually proved Porcello’s point by drilling an RBI double that scored Machado from first. Home plate umpire Tim Timmons warned both sides in the seventh after Orioles pitcher Tyler Wilson hit David Ortiz with an off-speed pitch, which also looked unintentional.
Porcello reiterated his point when asked about the incident after the game.
“It’s September baseball. Obviously emotions are running high,” Porcello told reporters, via WEEI.com. “… At the same time, there’s absolutely no reason why I would hit him right there, especially with Mark Trumbo standing on deck. I mean, he’s hitting missiles all over the ball park off me. So I don’t want to face him in a 2-0 game, especially when (I’ve) got a perfect game going.”
To Machado’s credit, the 24-year-old third baseman later admitted Porcello had good reason not to hit him.
“We were just walking to first base, just talking. Talking like human beings. Nothing much was said,” Machado said, via WEEI.com. “We all know he doesn’t want to hit me there in that situation. I know who we’ve got behind me. I’m not dumb. We’ve got Trumbo, (Chris) Davis, guys who with one swing of the bat can drive in a couple runs. There’s nothing much to it honestly.”
