Amir Garrett came into the top of the eighth with the Cubs leading the Reds 3-2. He’s had a rough season so far and was looking to turn things around. Facing Anthony Rizzo, Garrett walked up to the plate in a way that felt confrontational, possibly due to past tension involving Javy Báez in 2018. Garrett’s reputation as a fiery, self-styled tough guy showed immediately. He fired two strong fastballs to go up 0-2, clearly liking what he was doing and letting Rizzo know it with some long stares.
Rizzo battled back a bit, fouling off a pitch and taking a ball in the dirt. Then Garrett dropped a nasty slider that got him the strikeout. He celebrated hard, shouting at Rizzo in a way that looked more like taunting than self-pumping. Rizzo didn’t respond much, but Javy Báez came out of the dugout fired up, ready to defend his guy. It was almost a mirror of 2018 when Rizzo stood up for Báez.
The whole thing felt out of place. Garrett was loud in a game his team was losing, and the strikeout didn’t even end the inning. Cubs pitcher Andrew Chafin mimicked Garrett from the dugout afterward, doing a playful strut. Garrett told his coach he needed that moment, but from the outside it looked less like a momentum shift and more like posturing. The confrontation didn’t lead to anything major, but it added another layer to the ongoing tension between these players.