The Orioles aren't winning much on the field this season, but they may lead the majors in dugout spats, at least for the month of August.
Just three weeks after manager Brandon Hyde and first baseman Chris Davis had to be separated during a tense exchange, tempers again flared in Baltimore's dugout Wednesday night. Orioles reliever Richard Bleier and infield coach Jose Flores exchanged heated words in the fifth inning of the Orioles' 8-4 loss to the Washington Nationals.
As Bleier got the hook after a tough relief outing that saw him give up four hits and three runs and record only one out, he headed toward the dugout and said something that caught Flores' attention. The coach followed Bleier in the dugout, and the two had words before other players separated the two.
Richard Bleier and Orioles infield coach Jose Flores seemed to have some choice words for each other after Bleier was yanked when he allowed four hits and three runs while recording one out. One assumes defensive alignments were part of the conversation. pic.twitter.com/mdQLJDHaQR
— Zachary Silver (@zachsilver) August 29, 2019
“I think frustration boiled over,” Bleier told reporters after the game (via MLB.com). “Some balls I thought, maybe defensive positioning ... I probably could have done better for myself to keep my mouth shut. Unfortunately, I may have said something, and you guys saw the rest.”
Such hard feelings are easier to shake off when a team is winning. For the Orioles, who hold the second-worst record in baseball (44-89), they can quickly become embarrassing incidents of frustration boiling over, as witnessed earlier this month with the drama between Hyde and Davis.
Going out on a limb here... someone said something about Chris Davis’ EMBARRASSING contract pic.twitter.com/lBJi8MZgiQ
— Kyle ⚾️ (@KyleNYY) August 8, 2019