Sergio Romo's old grudge leads to benches-clearing incident against Nats
Tampa Bay Rays pitcher Sergio Romo knows how to hold a grudge. At the end of Tuesday’s game against the Washington Nationals, Romo let the team know he was bothered by their actions from a few weeks back, and nearly caused a brawl in the process.
What caused the Nationals and Rays to almost get into a brawl?
With the Rays clinging to a one-run lead, Romo struck out Nationals outfielder Michael A. Taylor to give his team the 1-0 win. After the strikeout, Romo could be seeing yelling at Taylor as he walked off the mound. Taylor didn’t appear to notice at first, but the entire Nationals’ dugout saw it. Members from the Nationals ran out onto the field, which caused the Rays’ dugout to empty as well.
That was all that happened. Some more words may have been exchanged, but no punches were thrown.
Why did Sergio Romo react that way?
It all goes back to something that happened June 6. With the Nationals up by four runs in that game, Taylor stole second base with Romo on the mound. The Nationals proceeded to score four runs during that inning and went on to win that game 11-2.
Romo was still mad about that stolen base three weeks later.
How did Romo react after the game?
He acknowledged that he was mad about the June 6 steal, said it’s nothing personal against Taylor, and then added that he “had to let him know I didn’t like it.”
How did Taylor respond after the game?
Mostly with indifference. He knew why Romo was upset, but pointed out that the Rays were still trying to win Monday’s game when they were up by quite a few runs.
Michael A.: "They're upset I stole a base at home in the sixth… you saw how many runs they scored with nine outs yesterday. So the game's not over. Obviously, they think differently, but I'm not worried about that. We lost the game. That's the only thing that upsets me."
— Chelsea Janes (@chelsea_janes) June 26, 2018
Taylor wasn’t interested in making the exchange a big deal, saying he’s “not big on drama.”
What happens with the Nationals and Rays moving forward?
The whole issue is probably over. Taylor’s comments indicate he doesn’t really care. If Romo is still upset, he won’t have a chance to retaliate this season. The Nationals and Rays don’t play each other the rest of the year. Unless Romo or Taylor get traded, this beef is done in 2018.
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Chris Cwik is a writer for Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at christophercwik@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @Chris_Cwik
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