BALTIMORE -- Before the benches cleared and the bullpens emptied at Camden Yards on Sunday afternoon, Orioles third baseman Blaze Alexander was visibly frustrated with Royals right-hander Lucas Erceg, whose 95.5 mph fastball broke Alexander's left hand during the seventh inning of Baltimore's 8-2 win.
At the time, it wasn't quite clear what exactly made Alexander so upset, other than getting hit by the pitch. But Erceg said after the game that players on the field told him Alexander didn't like how Erceg was "quick-pitching."
Players inside Kansas City's clubhouse made it known that Erceg wasn't intentionally trying to hit Alexander, while Erceg said it's common for him to "quick-pitch," especially in those types of two-strike situations. Vinnie Pasquantino, one of the Royals' leaders, told reporters afterward it was "common sense" that Erceg wouldn't plunk Alexander on purpose in that spot.
Alexander did not talk afterward because he left the game due to injury. But the 27-year-old took to social media on Monday afternoon to clear up the situation, noting he understood it wasn't intentional, but that he wasn't pleased with the "quick-pitching" by Erceg that occurred.
"Never thought it was intentional but the [two] quick pitches to try and catch me off guard led to me now missing games," Alexander wrote.
Alexander also responded to the comments made by Pasquantino, ending his post by thanking "Big Foot" for his compliments, as a reference to the slugger's "Pasquatch" nickname.
Here were Pasquantino's full comments on the hit-by-pitch and the benches-clearing situation:
On the Alexander HBP:
"We had some up-and-in pitches the other day. To be honest, that’s a guy who’s hitting over. 300 and is feeling good about himself that feels the need, when he gets hit, that he can say something. So credit to him for feeling good about himself like that. But he’s clearly not -- it’s a 1-2 count. We’re trying to get outs. We’re not trying to give away free baserunners. I think that’s a bad baseball mindset, personally, because why would we hit a guy right there? It’s just common sense. But he feels good about what he’s doing right now, and credit to him, he’s been having a really good year. That was my perspective on it.”
On the small fracas dissipating quickly:
"Yeah, because both teams were like, ‘What? This is stupid.’ There was one person angry there. The rest of the guys were like, ‘Ugh, that sucks.’ That’s it.”
Though Alexander's fracture in his left hand is non-displaced, he will still likely miss substantial time. It's a big blow for the Orioles, as the utility man is hitting .312 with 12 doubles, two triples, four home runs, 29 RBIs and an .807 OPS over 82 games during his first season in Baltimore.