Things boiled over during a wild eighth inning between the Phillies and Rays. With the game tied 4-4, the Phillies put runners on second and third after a double. Tampa took out their starter and brought in Edwin Uceta, but it didn’t go well. The Phillies batters seemed locked in on his changeup, possibly because of a subtle glove flare tip. Andrew Stevenson tracked pitches, fouled off fastballs, then crushed a changeup to right for a two-run single. Garrett Stubbs followed but couldn’t connect, striking out after a tense battle.
Cody Kennedy then dropped a bloop single into right to add another run. Trey Turner came up and read the cutter perfectly, smashing it for a homer. Harper hunted changeups his whole at-bat, adjusted his stance mid-plate appearance, stepped closer to the plate and hammered a changeup for a double. All signs pointed to the Phillies picking up on Uceta’s pitch tells. That drove the Rays pitcher over the edge.
On the next at-bat, Uceta hit Nick Castellanos square in the hip. Castellanos immediately barked at him, and Bryce Harper freaked out from the on-deck circle. Harper yelled repeatedly that “we don’t do that sh*t,” nearly charging but holding back. Tempers flared, benches cleared, and Harper made it clear they weren’t trying to injure guys the way that move suggested. Uceta was tossed, and the moment capped off a brutal inning in which he unraveled, both in performance and composure.