Giles, Sandberg resolve issues after dugout exchange
Right-hander became frustrated following mound visit, intentional walk on Friday
PITTSBURGH -- The day after a heated dugout exchange between reliever Ken Giles, manager Ryne Sandberg and pitching coach Bob McClure, the righty said the three have resolved their differences.
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"Everything's buried in the dirt. Nothing to worry about," Giles said. "It's never going to happen again."
With two outs in the bottom of the eighth inning of Friday's 1-0 loss to the Pirates, Giles seemed irritated following a mound visit, after which he intentionally walked Bucs first baseman Pedro Alvarez. The right-hander issued another free pass before putting away the inning.
"I'm just out there to compete," Giles said. "I just don't like giving freebies. That's about it. ... My emotions just got the best of me."
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What increased Giles' frustrations was how well he felt he was throwing. The 24-year-old was topping out at 98 mph with his fastball and locating it well.
Giles made a hand gesture walking off the bump, put his head down, and took a seat in the dugout, where Sandberg was waiting to voice displeasure with how his player had behaved.
Giles said he got "a little too fired up" about the decision to walk Alvarez, and he smoothed things over with Sandberg and McClure following the game.
"We're players, too. We're all the same. We have the same mentality," Giles said of Sandberg, a Hall of Famer who played for 15 seasons. "He understands, and I also have to understand the situation and his position, as well."