Tension boiled over in the Dodgers-Padres series after a hit-by-pitch in game one sparked a chain of retaliations and confusion. Cece hit Pahz with 97, claiming it was unintentional. Pahz wasn’t buying it. Things escalated in the next game when Tatis tried to bunt and got hit by a two-seamer that tailed into his back. It looked accidental, but given the situation, it raised eyebrows. Padres responded by plunking Ohtani in the leg, which he took in stride, laughing through it. But the umpires stepped in and issued warnings to both dugouts.
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts didn’t take the warning well. He walked out to argue and was quietly tossed without even realizing it at first. Once he found out, he unloaded on umpire Trip Gibson, accusing him of having “no feel” for the game. Gibson tried keeping calm, but Roberts wouldn’t let it go, clearly frustrated by the call and the implications. The two went back-and-forth for minutes, with Roberts calling on veteran ump Marvin Hudson to back him up. Roberts claimed it was just baseball and accused the younger ump of not understanding how the game polices itself.
The game still found time for more weird moments. Another Padres hitter took a pitch off the hand, which fired up Machado and brought back questions about the warnings. Then a messy play with Tatis asking Mookie Betts for time ended in confusion but was ultimately reversed. The benches didn’t clear, but emotions ran high. A balk scored a run, the mound got yelled at by a frustrated pitcher, and the story isn’t over—Tatis gets hit again in the next game. Part two promises even more chaos.