Victor Robles, on a rehab stint from the majors, had a rough stretch in the minors. In his first game back, he went 1-for-4 with a double, a groundout, and got hit by pitches twice. The second game against the same team didn’t go much better. In his first plate appearance, he got hit again — this time on an 0-2 pitch — and he lost his cool. That made it three HBPs in five plate appearances. He started crowding the back of the batter’s box, clearly trying to avoid more damage, even walking off mid-pitch once just to avoid a potential beanball.
The tension built further when he faced Joey Estes again, the same pitcher who plunked him in the first game. On one pitch clearly hitting him in the arm, the ump ruled it a foul ball instead of a hit by pitch, possibly because of a half-check swing. Later in that same at-bat, he was hit again, bringing the total to four. In the final moment of that sequence, he got hit in the shoulder again and erupted, throwing his bat and shouting. This led to both bullpens slowly jogging in and Robles being removed. He tossed sunflower seeds on the field before leaving and later slammed his helmet in frustration.
After the game, Robles issued an apology. He mentioned the recent passing of his mother and acknowledged he let his emotions get the best of him, but made clear getting hit five times during a rehab assignment was pushing any player’s limit. A suspension seems likely, which could delay his return to the big leagues. Not the kind of rehab outing anyone wants.