Matt Garza ejected after plunking Andrew McCutchen twice

The Brewers-Pirates rivalry has picked up in intensity this season as both teams vie for postseason positions out of the NL Central. Another layer was added to the feud on Saturday as Brewers starter Matt Garza was ejected for hitting Andrew McCutchen not once, but twice in five innings.

Of course, the bad blood really reached a boiling point all the way back on Mother's Day, when Pirates' starter Gerrit Cole confronted Brewers outfielder Carlos Gomez for what he considered to be excessive showboating on a triple. The benches would clear on that afternoon, punches would be thrown (and landed) and four players ended up getting suspended, which planted the seeds for potential future hostility.

It didn't quite reach that level when the teams matched up again on Saturday, but it didn't take long for the bad blood to start boiling. If not for the umpires taking charge and ejecting Garza, another ugly scene may have played out.

The first hit-by-pitch actually seemed innocent enough. It happened on a 1-2 count with two outs and didn't really scream intentional. The Pirates, though, are understandably fed up with McCutchen being hit so frequently this season. In the following inning, starter Edinson Volquez sent a reply by buzzing Ryan Braun. At that point, home-plate umpire Marty Foster stepped in to warn both benches, which would prove critical one inning later.

With McCutchen at the plate again, another 1-2 count and two outs in the inning, Garza plunked him again with a fastball, this time on the elbow. As an isolated hit-by-pitch, it probably wouldn't have looked so bad. In the context of Brewers-Pirates, it looked terrible. Foster had little choice but to eject Garza and consequentially Brewers manager Ron Roenicke due to his previous warning.

(USA TODAY Sports)
(USA TODAY Sports)

Garza was furious about the ejection and attempted to plead his case before storming off the field. After the game, he vehemently denied either pitch being intentional. If someone dared disagree, he had strong words for them.

From the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:

“If people think I hit McCutchen on purpose with as 1-2 count in a game like this, then you’re just an idiot,” said Garza. “That goes for the Pirates TV crew that kept insinuating that’s what we were doing. You’re an idiot.

“In a game like this, a starter doesn’t go after a guy like that. It’s a 1-2 count and I’m trying to pitch inside. The guy leans in and it hits him on the elbow, and that’s my day. It is what is. I’m just happy we pulled it out.”

Working for Garza is the angle that it doesn't make a bit of sense to pick that critical game or those situations to target McCutchen.

Working against him is the fact that he'd only hit two batters in 154 innings coming into the game and 42 for his career in nine seasons. It's definitely fishy that two got away in the same game against the same hitter, but stranger things have obviously happened in baseball.

“I think everybody knows he wasn’t trying to hit him but the umpire is in a tough spot,” said Roenicke. “You’ve given a warning. If you brush a guy, it’s a little bit different. But when you hit him up and in, I get why they had to make that call.

“This is a scary guy. You can’t make mistakes to him. When you want to do something, you try to go in a little bit farther. Just like Gomey (Carlos Gomez) gets hit all the time. You’re trying to get it away from that inside corner.”

(AP)
(AP)

It's possible there's a little more sensitivity now, not only for the Pirates, but also for the league when McCutchen gets hit. The reigning NL MVP was the unfortunate target of some unnecessary retaliation by the Arizona Diamondbacks earlier this season. The Diamondbacks weren't happy about losing Paul Goldschmidt for the season with a broken left hand after being hit by Ernesto Fieri, so McCutchen ended up wearing a fastball square in the back.

That said, pitchers can't be afraid or hesitant to pitch McCutchen inside just the same as any other star. And that's especially true now, when like in Milwaukee's case, a season depends on basically every result between now and Sept. 28.

It really is a tough spot for everybody involved, and it will be most interesting to see if there's any carry over into Sunday's season-series finale.

By the way, Milwaukee did go on to win 1-0 Saturday, trimming Pittsburgh's wild-card lead to 3 1/2. Sunday's game will be very important for both sides.

More MLB coverage from Yahoo Sports:

- - - - - - -

Mark Townsend

is a writer for Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at bigleaguestew@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!