Pittsburgh Pirates manager Clint Hurdle said during his pregame talk with reporters Wednesday at Great American Ball Park in Cincinnati he will speak to relief pitcher Keone Kela, who admitted he intentionally threw “up and in” at the Reds’ Derek Dietrich.
The pitch in the seventh inning was the trigger for a brawl two innings later between the teams.
“We as an organization have never condoned throwing fastballs at guys’ heads or pitching up and in,” Hurdle said in an interview broadcast on 93.7 FM. “I’ve never told a pitcher to throw at someone’s head. (Pitching coach) Ray (Searage) has never told a pitcher to throw at someone’s head.”
Kela admitted there was intent in his pitch that was clocked at 97 mph.
“I’m going to tell you the truth. The reason I went up and in was strictly, one, to show my intent with my pitch and to pretty much let Dietrich know that I didn’t necessarily agree with the way things went down,” Kela told Adam Berry of MLB.com. “Of course, people could say it was overdue. At the end of the day, this is baseball, and I have to protect my teammates and I have to do what I feel is right.
“Not only that, you have to pitch in. That’s part of this game. The day that we’re not allowed to pitch in is the day that the game of baseball forever changes. I was just doing my part. It is what it is.”
Reds manager David Bell said after the game Tuesday he wasn’t surprised by what Kela did.
“That’s kind of been going on all year,” said Bell, referencing another benches-clearing brawl April 7 at PNC Park when Pirates pitcher Chris Archer threw behind Dietrich. “I can’t tell you how disappointing it is that it’s still going on, and nothing’s been done about it. They celebrate it. They support it. They clearly allow it. I don’t know if they teach it. But they allow it. It’s dangerous.
“At some point, it’s bigger than the game of baseball. We have to protect our guys.”
Asked if he was referring to Hurdle, Bell said, “He’s the manager.”
Before the Pirates’ game with the Reds on Wednesday, MLB had not announced suspensions.
There were eight ejections Tuesday night.
Among those players ejected was Reds pitcher Jared Hughes, who threw high and tight to the Pirates’ Starling Marte in the eighth inning before hitting him in the backside with a pitch.
Hurdle said he had a conversation Wednesday with MLB chief baseball office Joe Torre, whose responsibilities include discipline. Hurdle declined to reveal what was said.
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