Edwin Uceta caused the benches to clear in the Tampa Bay Rays vs. Philadelphia Phillies matchup when he hit Nick Castellanos with a pitch in the eighth inning.
Uceta entered the game during the eighth inning with the score tied. He surrendered four hits and three earned runs to five hitters before facing Castellanos. Uceta hit Castellanos with the first pitch he threw in the at-bat. He did not mince words when describing what happened after the game.
"I had an overwhelming sense that I was about to get drilled," Castellanos said postgame. "We all just got a sense of what it was—he was just [ticked] off that he got hit around and his ERA shot through the roof."
Uceta entered the game with a 0.79 ERA. After he exited he had a 1.49 ERA. He allowed a go-ahead two-run double to the first batter he faced. He also allowed an RBI single and a two-run home run to Trea Turner. Bryce Harper hit a double just before Uceta faced Castellanos.
Benches cleared and Bryce Harper who was standing on second base started to make his way toward Uceta as well. Uceta was ejected from the game as a result. Hunter Bigge entered the game and struck out Bryson Stott to end the inning."You're frustrated and you're going to throw at somebody. That's like my 2-year-old throwing a fit because I took away his dessert before he was finished," Castellanos said after the game.
The Phillies five-run eighth inning was enough to secure the win. The Phillies won the game 9-4 to secure the series win.
More MLB: Braves woes continue as All-Star pitcher hits injured list amid playoff push
