Cubs reliever Pedro Strop made it known he was not happy with Yasiel Puig after a hit by pitch incident in Saturday's game against the Reds.
"It’s not a secret he’s stupid," Strop said of Puig (via the Chicago Sun-Times). "He’s stupid as f—. I mean, I have nothing against him, but he’s stupid. There’s no doubt about it."
It all started when Puig was hit by a pitch with two outs in the eighth inning. Strop hit Puig in the left thigh with a 94-mph fastball, causing a strong reaction from Puig as he threw his helmet to the ground and started yelling as he walked toward the mound.
The benches from both sides cleared as they came to defend their teammates. Puig had to be held back, but no punches were thrown.
Hitting Yasiel Puig in the batter's box? Not a great idea. pic.twitter.com/IaeeuSvqy1
— FOX Sports Ohio (@FOXSportsOH) June 29, 2019
Things calmed down after the game, but Strop didn't understand why Puig was so upset.
"He just reacted like that," Strop said. "Maybe because it was a 3-0 pitch, maybe it looks weird. I wasn't commanding my sinker, and I didn't want to leave a cookie 3-0. He'll swing 3-0 and hit it way out of the park. He just acted stupid.
"I told him, 'Why are you talking? You have a chance to do whatever you need to do on the mound. Now you're just screaming."
Puig said he hasn't had any previous incidents like this with Strop, but he hopes everyone can move forward and focus on the next game of the series.
"I don't know. You need to ask (Strop)," Puig said. "Myself and my teammates want to go out tomorrow and win the series. ... We'll play the game tomorrow and forget about what happened today."
The Cubs ended up winning, 6-0, after the Reds won Friday's game. The two will play again Sunday at 1:10 p.m. ET to close out the three-game series.