The Cardinals-Cubs rivalry is getting even hotter as the regular season winds down.
Cubs manger Joe Maddon believes it wasn't a mistake that Cardinals pitcher Matt Belisle hit Cubs first baseman Anthony Rizzo in the leg with a pitch after the Cardinals' Matt Holliday was hit in the head by a Dan Haren pitch earlier in the game.
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“I’m really disappointed with what the Cardinals did right there, absolutely,” Maddon told reporters after the Cubs' 8-3 win at Wrigley Field . “We did not hit their guy on purpose at all, that was an absolute mistake."
Rizzo, who was hit by Tyler Lyons in the fourth inning, had to lean toward home plate to avoid Belisle's seventh-inning pitch, which was traveling toward Rizzo's knees.
Cardinals manager Mike Matheny, who was issued a warning along with Maddon after Haren hit Holliday, was ejected along with Belisle.
While the Cardinals may have thought the Cubs were targeting Holliday, Maddon denied any wrongdoing by Haren.
"There is no malicious intent on Dan Haren’s part, none," he said, "so to become this vigilante group that all of sudden wants to get their own pound of flesh is absolutely insane, ridiculous and wrong. We don’t start stuff but we stop stuff."
Belisle also denied having any intent.
"I have to pitch inside," he told reporters, according to MLB.com. "I was (pitching) mostly away, and I have to pitch in. It's part of my game, and part of being successful up here."
Maddon didn't want to hear anything about pitching inside (skip to the 2:25 mark of the video below for Maddon's takedown of the Cardinals).
The teams will play again Saturday and Sunday. First-place St. Louis is six games ahead of Chicago in the NL Central race.