Manny Machado's actions in Game 2 of the NLDS bring the rivalry between the Dodgers and Padres to a boiling point.
Third baseman Manny Machado stirred up some controversy during NLDS Game 2 between the Los Angeles Dodgers and the San Diego Padres on Sunday.
The game had its heated moments, with Dodgers fans throwing items onto the field aimed at Jurickson Profar, who had provoked them earlier. The tension peaked when Machado faced off against Jack Flaherty, ending with Flaherty striking out Machado in an intense at-bat.
But while the Padres initially earned some sympathy, a new video involving Machado put them under scrutiny. Machado, known as the team’s leader, tossed a ball into the Dodgers’ dugout before the game began.
After the Padres secured a 10-2 victory in Game 2 on Sunday, evening the National League Division Series at one game each, Machado accused Flaherty of deliberately hitting San Diego’s Fernando Tatis Jr. to start the sixth inning.
Flaherty strongly denied this claim. Two batters later, he struck out Machado, shouting at him to “sit the f— down.”
Machado appeared unfazed by Flaherty’s reaction, attributing it to “competition.” However, things heated up when the two exchanged words as Machado returned to the field for defense in the bottom of the sixth, hinting at a potential confrontation after the game.
Flaherty later expressed his frustration, claiming that Machado threw the ball into the Dodgers’ dugout deliberately.
Machado shrugged off the accusation, explaining that he often tosses baseballs into dugouts after warming up. However, Dodgers personnel who witnessed the throw or saw it on video reported that the ball was thrown with force, bouncing before hitting the netting near where Roberts usually sits during games, close to home plate.
Although Machado downplayed the incident on Sunday night, his comments seemed to suggest otherwise when asked if it was normal to throw balls into the opponent’s dugout.
“Both dugouts,” Machado explained. “They have foul balls, you throw the ball back in there. I mean, when you try to hit our best hitter. Right? Get him out. If you can’t get him out, don’t hit him. Right? They have the best player in the game, right? [Shohei] Ohtani? We don’t go out there and try to hit Ohtani. We try to get him out. Don’t go out there and try to hit my guy.”
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts called the incident ‘bothersome‘ and ‘unsettling,’ suggesting that Machado might have aimed the ball at him during the Padres’ 10-2 win in Game 2. Tensions were already high during the game, both on the field and in the stands at Dodger Stadium.
Roberts admitted he didn’t see Machado’s throw live but reviewed the video afterward. “It was unsettling. … And the ball was directed at me with something behind it.”
Thankfully, the netting prevented the ball from reaching Roberts.
“That was very bothersome. If it was intended at me, I would be very — it’s pretty disrespectful,” Roberts stated on Monday, ahead of the Dodgers’ evening workout at Petco Park, where Game 3 is set to take place in front of a sellout crowd on Tuesday.
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