Contreras 'fed up' after two more HBPs in another tense contest with Padres

ST. LOUIS -- Hit by pitches three times in the past two games, Willson Contreras put the Padres and the rest of the baseball world on notice following the Cardinals’ 3-1 loss to San Diego on Saturday.

“I’m pretty much fed up,” Contreras said after he was plunked on the left wrist by Randy Vásquez and on the left elbow guard by Robert Suarez. “Like I said earlier today, I’m not trying to get injured with a broken hand or a broken finger. Nobody will feel sorry for me, but that’s enough.”

Contreras is tied with Ty France for second in MLB in hit-by-pitches, with 17. Randy Arozarena leads with 18.

Contreras getting plunked twice on Saturday came a night after he was hit on the left hand by Nick Pivetta in a fiery moment where the pitcher and slugger exchanged words, and the benches and bullpens emptied without incident. Afterward, Pivetta accused Contreras of diving out over the plate, and the Cardinals first baseman responded by saying: “That makes me laugh. He should watch more video.”

The benches emptied again on Saturday, this time after Padres’ star Manny Machado was hit a second time. Machado was grazed by a Matthew Liberatore fastball in the fifth inning and again by an Andre Granillo pitch in the ninth. Just as tensions seemed to be cooling off, Cardinals coach Jon Jay had words with Machado – his one-time friend and fellow Miami resident in the offseason – and then the two sides exchanged shoves. Jay was the only person ejected.

“There’s nothing to it. But then you’ve got somebody else coming up and yapping their mouth,” Machado said of Jay, adding vaguely: “I know the real him.”

Said Contreras of Jay’s trash talk: “It was good, and it feels better when the benches clear and the whole team is into it rather than just pushing everybody back. It was an emotional game, for sure. Hopefully tomorrow we have another one. Hopefully everything goes well, and we just play baseball.”

Liberatore said the sweltering, 93-degree temperature played a role in his pitch that hit Machado. He said one reason Contreras has been hit so often is that pitchers often don’t know how to work inside.

“[Contreras] is a guy you have to pitch in, but guys should know how to pitch in if they’re going to try and go that far in on him,” said Liberatore, who allowed one earned run over 4 1/3 innings. “We’ve had a lot of guys who don’t know how to command that ball and they’ve gone too far in on him. It’s unfortunate to see him get hit so many times.”

Jordan Walker, who had a 109.2 mph line-drive double in the second inning to plate the Cardinals’ only run, echoed that assessment.

“I just see it as they don’t know what to do with [Contreras],” Walker said. “He’s crushing everything and getting on base. I like the maturity of [Contreras] getting hit that last time and just walking to first base. Emotions are high right now.”

Contreras’ emotions were running hot because he was hit on the back of the left hand in April 2024 by Padres right-handed pitcher Joe Musgrove, and the pain and swelling from that injury cost him game action. He also had a finger on his left hand broken when he was hit by a Pablo López pitch in August 2024.

Contreras took great delight in rattling Pivetta on Friday night by confronting him upon being hit on the left hand again. After being plunked, Contreras ultimately came around to score the game’s first run – which proved to be the winner in St. Louis’ 3-0 shutout.

“If you’re going to open your mouth, then you should keep going. That’s why I started chirping back at him,” Contreras said before Saturday’s game. “It’s just part of the mental game sometimes. When that happened, [Pivetta] lost the game right away.

“That’s the advantage that I took off him. I was trying to play mind games like I always do, and I got in his head, and he lost his command. The next at bat he threw one strike in five pitches, and he lost his mind. … But if you hit me and I stare at you and then you start chirping, don’t wait for me to sit back.”