Benches Clear after Castellanos Flexes over Pitcher, a breakdown

Apr 3, 2021 4.6M views 4:01
MLB 2021

What Happened

In the bottom of the fourth inning of the season opener between the Cincinnati Reds and the St. Louis Cardinals, the benches clear after a testy exchange between Reds outfielder Nick Castellanos and Cardinals pitcher Jack Flaherty. The incident stems from the previous day's game, where Castellanos celebrated a home run off Flaherty with an emphatic bat flip. As Castellanos steps to the plate in this game, Flaherty hits him with a pitch, prompting Castellanos to question Cardinals catcher Yadier Molina about whether the plunking was intentional. Molina assures Castellanos it was not and the inning continues. In the next at-bat, Reds first baseman Joey Votto gets a hit that moves Castellanos to third base. As Reds third baseman Mike Moustakas steps to the plate, a wild pitch from Molina allows Castellanos to score. As Castellanos crosses the plate, he flexes and gestures in the face of Cardinals pitcher Jake Woodford, who had covered home. This ignites a benches-clearing brawl, with both teams converging on the field. Moustakas is the first Reds player to reach the scuffle, wrapping up Molina to prevent further escalation. Reds outfielder Jesse Winker patrols the perimeter, yelling at players to stay back, though his actions only seem to stir up more commotion. The two teams exchange shoves and jawing, with Cardinals pitcher Jordan Hicks appearing particularly incensed, pointing and shouting at the Reds dugout. Ultimately, cooler heads prevail and the two teams separate. Castellanos remains calm throughout, keeping his arms behind his back and letting Molina speak to him. Moustakas also acts as a peacekeeper, embracing Castellanos and telling him he has his back. As the teams head back to their respective bullpens, the tension continues, with Suarez getting shoved and the bullpens engaging in their own skirmish. Despite the fireworks, the incident seems to stem from little more than excess emotion and posturing on both sides. Castellanos, in particular, maintains his composure, allowing the veterans like Molina and Moustakas to de-escalate the situation. This early-season clash sets the tone for what promises to be an intense, rivalry-fueled season between these two NL Central contenders.

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on the first day of the season

castiano's took flaherty

way deep and he hopped and he skipped

and he candyman

walked his ass out of the box and then