Manny Machado in the middle of benches-clearing argument in NLCS Game 4
Los Angeles Dodgers star Manny Machado just can’t avoid trouble in the National League Championship Series.
When the benches cleared Tuesday night in the 10th inning of Game 4 against the Milwaukee Brewers, of course Machado was in the middle of it. His series had thus far included two controversial slides in Game 3 and a Game 2 grounder he didn’t run out, which led to a Twitterstorm of controversy about his lack of hustle and Machado eventually saying he wasn’t going to change.
This time Machado did run out a grounder — and trouble still found him. In the 10th inning and the score tied 1-1, he grounded to shortstop with one out and was thrown out by Orlando Arcia. But when Machado got to first, he clipped and appeared to kick Brewers first baseman Jesús Aguilar.
The main point of contention here: Machado didn’t make an effort to avoid Aguilar and could have injured him. Aguilar, of course, took exception to it. The two of them jawed at each other, Machado keeping the clash going instead of walking back to the dugout. That’s when the benches cleared.
Nobody was ejected, but the judgment of Machado from around baseball was swift and one-sided, with a number of players and ex-players being critical of Machado:
Absolutely unnecessary by Machado
— Brett Anderson (@_BAnderson30_) October 17, 2018
That is exactly why people think what they do about Machado.
— Mark Mulder (@markmulder20) October 17, 2018
Dirty play on machados part
Trash— Landon Holifield (@LD_Holi) October 17, 2018
That’s just not necessary
— Steven Souza Jr. (@SouzaJr) October 17, 2018
The Dodgers would eventually win the game 2-1 in 13 innings, but not before Machado found the spotlight again. He singled in the 13th, went to second on a passed ball and scored the winning run on a Cody Bellinger single to right field.
When he was on first, he met Aguilar again and they appeared to make up.
After the game, Machado brushed their clash aside saying, “We’re family. Things happen. He’s a great guy. We go way back.”
Still, the rest of the Brewers weren’t as forgiving, with Christian Yelich calling Machado a “dirty player” and even worse.
Christian Yelich on Manny Machado’s incident at first base with Jesus Aguilar: “It’s a dirty play by a dirty player.”
— Robert Murray (@ByRobertMurray) October 17, 2018
After Yelich finished answering questions about Machado, he walked away from his locker and blurted out: “F – – k that mother- – – – er.”
— Mike Puma (@NYPost_Mets) October 17, 2018
As for Machado?
Manny Machado: “If that’s dirty, that’s dirty. I don’t care.”
— Andy McCullough (@McCulloughTimes) October 17, 2018
Game 5 oughta be interesting.
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Mike Oz is a writer at Yahoo Sports. Contact him at mikeozstew@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @MikeOz
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