Manny Machado angered a lot of people in Brewers uniforms Tuesday night when he kicked the foot of Milwaukee first baseman Jesus Aguilar for seemingly no good reason. The Dodgers infielder even had Milwaukee manager Craig Counsell criticizing him publicly after Game 4 of the NLCS at Dodger Stadium.
RIVERA: Does Machado's lack of hustle really matter?
Counsell went at Machado's general lack of hustle, a deficiency Machado admitted this week, in reviewing the 10th-inning incident.
Counsell is asked about the play at first base between Manny Machado and Jesus Aguilar, and if Machado is going beyond the boundaries of playing hard. "I guess they got tangled up at first base," Counsell said. "I don't think he's playing all that hard."
— Todd Rosiak (@Todd_Rosiak) October 17, 2018
Brewers outfielder Christian Yelich was blunt, as well, as he brought up Machado's bad reputation within the game.
Christian Yelich was fuming off camera about Manny Machado. On camera, he was composed but stern, and steadfast in his opinion.
— Joe Trezza (@JoeTrezz) October 17, 2018
"I don't know what his problem is," he said. More: pic.twitter.com/F82RnZ6auO
After Yelich finished answering questions about Machado, he walked away from his locker and blurted out: “F - - k that mother- - - - er.”
— Mike Puma (@NYPost_Mets) October 17, 2018
Milwaukee infielder Travis Shaw, who played against Machado when both men were in the AL East (Red Sox vs. Orioles), put the "dirty" label on him, too.
The Brewer who sounded the least upset, at least after the game? Aguilar.
Aguilar said Machado apologized to him and they are good. He was less upset about it than his teammates.
— Jeff Fletcher (@JeffFletcherOCR) October 17, 2018
Machado, as expected, dismissed what his opponents were saying.
Manny Machado, when told some Brewers accused him of making a dirty play: "I play baseball. I go out there and try to win for my team. If that's their comments, that's their comments. I can't do nothing about that."
— J.P. Hoornstra (@jphoornstra) October 17, 2018
Machado on the Aguilar play: “His foot was on the bag. I was trying to get over him... if that’s dirty, that’s dirty.”
— Bill Shaikin (@BillShaikin) October 17, 2018
Besides, he had just gotten the last word on the field. He busted it from second base to score on Cody Bellinger's hit to right field, narrowly beating Yelich's throw to home plate, and give LA a 2-1 victory in 13 innings.
The Dodgers pulled even 2-2 in the best-of-seven series. Game 5 will be Wednesday afternoon in Los Angeles (5:09 p.m. ET).
