Philly Leader

Nick Castellanos, a seasoned player for the Philadelphia Phillies, anticipated trouble during their 9-4 victory over the Tampa Bay Rays on Tuesday night at Citizens Bank Park. Rays right-hander Edwin Uceta had struggled in the eighth inning, giving up a home run, two doubles, and a single. Castellanos sensed he might be targeted next.

Castellanos recounted his feelings before stepping into the batter's box: "I had an overwhelming sense that I was about to get drilled." He decided not to swing, wanting to see if the pitch would be around the plate. His instincts proved correct as he took a 96.2 mph fastball off his left hip. The benches and bullpens subsequently emptied.

Uceta claimed the pitch was unintentional: “I wasn’t trying to do it on purpose,” he said through a team interpreter. Rays manager Kevin Cash suggested Uceta "probably lost his composure a little bit."

Castellanos expressed his frustration: “Yeah, I just told him that it was bull [crap]. I mean, you’re throwing a baseball over 90 mph. You’re frustrated and you’re going to throw at somebody? You know? That’s like my 2-year-old throwing a fit because I take away his dessert before he’s finished.”

Following the hit-by-pitch incident, Bryce Harper charged toward Uceta from second base but was intercepted by Rays infielders before reaching him. Harper explained his actions: “If he’s going to turn around, then all right, let’s go. But he never turned around... I didn’t want to be a loser and come up behind him.”

Uceta maintained that he did not realize how close Harper had gotten: “I didn’t realize he was getting that close to me,” he said.

No punches were thrown during the altercation, though fines could be issued.

Harper reflected on the dangers of errant pitches in Major League Baseball: “It shouldn’t be... Guys throw too hard nowadays... It upset me. It’s not something that you should accept as Major League Baseball.” Harper has personal experience with such risks; he suffered significant injuries from errant pitches in previous seasons.

The win bolstered the Phillies' lead in the NL East to eight games over both the Braves and Mets with 17 games remaining. Philadelphia also moved half a game ahead of the Dodgers for the best record in the NL.

When asked if this incident could strengthen team unity further, Harper responded: “As a team, I don’t think we really need moments like that because we [already] are that type of team... When something like that happens... all of us just get upset because it’s not right.”

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