Joey Votto faced Rowan Wick in a tense Reds vs. Cubs game and things got heated fast. Wick’s first pitch buzzed Votto up and in, forcing him to dodge and regroup. The rest of the at-bat turned wild. Wick missed the zone repeatedly before Votto finally walked, but he punctuated the moment with a bat flip. Wick didn’t like the showboating, and words were exchanged. Votto snapped back hard, telling Wick to stay in his lane and let him know they weren’t equals. The conflict spilled over as Votto chirped at the Cubs dugout, telling the whole bench to shut up.
Tensions didn’t stop there. In the ninth, Reds reliever Hunter Strickland hit Patrick Wisdom with the first pitch. Wisdom stared him down, and the Cubs bench lost it. That led to Cubs manager David Ross charging out to argue. Ross claimed the umpires failed to convene and review the situation properly. He wanted the crew to communicate and suggested the hit-by-pitch may have been retaliation. The home plate umpire wasn’t having it and tossed Ross mid-rant. Ross kept jawing, insisting the umps missed what happened between Votto and Wick, and failed to control the game. The whole exchange turned into a profanity-laced shouting match, with Ross storming off and the ump firing back. The ejection capped a messy, emotional game marked by old-school tension and plenty of attitude on both sides.