Lots of hit batters, but no angst

SAN DIEGO -- Baseball has had its beanball wars. On Monday night, the Pirates and the Padres had a beanball tea party, as far as the acrimony spurred by six hit batters was concerned.

Each team had three batters plunked. The Bucs' Charlie Morton nailed three, and San Diego's Alex Torres clipped Starling Marte and Neil Walker before mound mate Donn Roach added another hit on Walker.

Yet, neither the teams' tempers, nor plate-umpire Seth Buckminster's suspicions, were raised. No warnings were issued. The restraint was owed to the locations of most of the errant pitches; Morton, for instance, had difficulty controlling an extremely breaking curve and bounced a couple off the feet of San Diego batters.

Pirates manager Clint Hurdle admitted the circumstances were unusual.

"I don't think I've ever been involved in a game with six hit batters -- and no warning," Hurdle said. "And not a lot of angst."

Of course Hurdle had not been involved in a previous similar game. Few have. According to research by MLB.com's Roger Schlitter, it was only the second time in modern (post-1914) NL history that each team had three hit batters. The first instance also involved the Pirates, on August 15, 2007 against the Mets.

Otherwise, it was business as usual for the Pirates, on both ends of those HBPs. The Bucs continue to lead the Major Leagues in getting hit (35) and in doing the hitting (36).

Walker (10) and Morton (13) are the individual Major League leaders in those categories.