Emotions boil over in latest Padres-Dodgers showdown

LOS ANGELES -- Hit batters, umpire warnings and a Dave Roberts ejection -- it was merely the latest chapter in a Dodgers-Padres rivalry that never seems to lack drama.

Most of that drama was staged in the span of a fiery third inning during Los Angeles’ 8-6 victory on Tuesday night at Dodger Stadium. Both Fernando Tatis Jr. and Shohei Ohtani were plunked -- Tatis in the back with a fastball from reliever Lou Trivino, Ohtani in the right leg with a fastball from starter Randy Vásquez.

In the immediate aftermath, the umpires convened and issued warnings to both sides. Roberts argued from the dugout's top step and was ejected by third-base umpire Tripp Gibson. Here’s a rundown of the incident:

Why were warnings issued, and why was Roberts ejected?

No warnings were issued after Trivino plunked Tatis, but when Vásquez hit Ohtani with one out in the bottom of the third, the umpiring crew issued warnings to both sides. Roberts maintained that Trivino did not mean to hit Tatis, but he thought that Ohtani being hit was "absolutely" intentional.

"Tatis, unintentional. In that spot, you don't want a guy on base. Certainly, him bleeding into their guys in the middle part of the order," Roberts said. "At that point in time, Shohei comes up with a base open. Vásquez took one shot at him. And then hit him again. It's very hard to miss that bad with a right-handed pitcher."

Roberts took issue with both sides being issued warnings, and he wanted an explanation from crew chief Marvin Hudson. He didn't realize that Gibson had already ejected him until Hudson told him.

"He can’t argue the warnings," Hudson told a pool reporter. "That’s where it was at. What he said was just what he said at that point."

After the fact, Roberts was upset when he learned that Padres manager Mike Shildt had gotten an explanation from umpires on the field. He saw it as a "lack of consistency" in enforcing things.

"For them to issue warnings, I feel it's common sense for me to ask their thought process and hold them accountable to their decision," Roberts said. "That's all I wanted to know."

What did Vásquez and the Padres say?

However it looked -- two superstars plunked in quick succession, after near fireworks the night before -- all parties involved denied intent. Vásquez maintained that the Padres’ game plan was to pitch Ohtani inside all along.

“It wasn’t intentional at all,” he said through interpreter Jorge Merlos.

Tatis dressed and left before reporters were let into the clubhouse. A week earlier, Tatis was also plunked by Trivino, a fact Shildt brought back to light after the game.

“Things happen in baseball,” Shildt said. “Guys are trying to pitch in. Guys are looking to make quality pitches. Trivino got Tati to open the game when he was the opener in the game at our place. And he got him again today. That didn't feel real good.

“Just trying to make quality pitches and fight for the inner-half part of the plate. Ball got away from Vásquez. I understand that they have to [issue warnings] at that point. There wasn't any complaint from my side.”

What’s the history?

With these two teams, there’s plenty of history. But escalating hit-by-pitches would mark something of a new chapter for this era of the rivalry.

The drama started Monday when outfielder Andy Pages was hit on the elbow pad by a Dylan Cease fastball. Pages stared down Cease, who seemed baffled that Pages would think there was intent behind the pitch.

Afterward, Pages acknowledged he’d probably overreacted, but he maintained his belief in Cease’s intent, noting that he felt the Padres thought he’d been relaying signs from second base earlier in the game. The Padres shooed away the notion of a purpose pitch.

“They got way more superstars over there if we want to hit somebody,” Manny Machado said Monday night. “They’ve got some big dogs over there we could hit.”

(Coincidence or not, three innings into Tuesday’s game, both teams’ biggest superstars had been plunked.)

Machado continued: “This game is crazy, right, this rivalry. It’s back and forth. Playing this competition, things get heated. You want to go out there and compete. He’s having a helluva year. He’s going to continue having a helluva year. Rooting for him, but it’s just part of the game.”

Pages got the last laugh. He homered twice on Tuesday and played an integral role in a Dodgers victory that moved them five games clear of the Padres in the National League West.

Why weren’t there ejections in the seventh?

Four innings later, Padres shortstop Jose Iglesias took a fastball from Dodgers righty Matt Sauer off his left hand. Iglesias exited the game, though X-rays on his hand were negative, Shildt said.

Shildt emerged to discuss the incident with the umpiring crew, and Machado hopped the dugout railing and voiced his thoughts from the warning track. Despite the warnings, Sauer remained in the game.

“There was no intent in him getting hit there, in our judgment,” Hudson said afterward.

Indeed, the general consensus from the Padres seemed to be that Sauer threw a sinker that ran too far in and caught Iglesias in the hand -- a distinctly different type of pitch from the ones that nailed Tatis and Ohtani.

In the third inning, after those stars had been plunked, Shildt himself asked Hudson to give both pitchers leeway to throw inside. Even if it grated on him that Iglesias had been plunked, Shildt accepted the decision.

“It didn’t feel good on our side,” Shildt said. “But candidly, I understood it.”

What’s next?

First, two more games between the Padres and Dodgers this week. Then, two more series in August. And would anybody be surprised if they met in October for the fourth time in six years? (Based on the current standings, they’re lined up to face each other right now.)

“When you get familiar with an opponent, that's kind of the natural progression, I guess,” Roberts said. “We just saw these guys three days, and these games are certainly meaningful. So, [there’s] extra emotion.”

Shildt was asked afterward whether he thought the plunkings might continue this week, and he waved it away, saying, “Not very high.” As for the rivalry itself?

“We love it,” said Shildt. “I wish we could play every night.”