The Mets didn’t start off their second half how they’d like in a 4-1 loss to the Pittsburgh Pirates on Friday night. And there is no way they wanted a benches clearing scuffle to happen either.
Marcus Stroman saw John Nogowski line out to end the fifth inning, and after the former showed some emotion and hit his glove, Nogowski started chirping. It led to both sides screaming at one another and the benches eventually cleared.
Here’s what Stroman said of the situation.
“I mean, I have no idea, man,” Stroman told reporters post-game when asked what caused everything. “Inning ended. Patted my glove in emotion, was just battling all night, had no feel, rain delay — just happy to kind of go five and keep it in kind of arms reach for my team. Put my head down, literally, looking at our dugout — you could look at the video — and he starts running his mouth, saying that I’m talking s–t.
“So I’m never one to let any man talk down on me, especially when it’s not warranted at all. He’s just a clown, man. You know what I mean? Drew Smith told me he was a clown. He’s a clown.”
Now, here’s Nogowski’s side of things.
“Man, it was just two competitive guys going at it,” Nogowski said. “I mean, that’s a big spot in the game. I had a real good at-bat going up to that point and hit that ball well. They had me played perfect and he was fired up for his team. He got that out. So, you’ve got two competitive guys out there, stands full. It gets a little heated sometimes, but, shoot — that’s why we love it.
“He’s a grown man. He can act the way he wants to,” Nogowski added. “I think that was a big spot in the game. And when guys want to get you out, that means you’re doing well. And I want guys to want to get me out, so that was a big spot in the game and I had no problem with the way that he was celebrating or anything like that. It was a huge out for his team and to try to keep them in the game there.”
Luis Rojas is on the side of Stroman, though, as he also couldn’t figure out why Nogowski would say something to him.
“He’s a guy that pitches with emotions. He has fun out there. Somebody doesn’t like it? I just don’t understand why. Let him have fun. A lot of people are having fun in this game, and Stroman’s one of those guys that does it on the mound. If you get to beat him or something in an at-bat, celebrate it. Nobody does anything about it. So I really don’t understand at this point, but nothing bad happened.”
Nothing should trickle over from the scuffle for the rest of the series, as things were clean on both sides as the game resumed. Stroman, though, was adamant about not appreciating what Nogowski did.
“That was completely out of character and unwarranted for him. And like I said, I’ll never let anyone talk down on me — no man. I’m not scared of anybody,” Stroman said.
Stroman’s final line from the game was two earned runs over his five innings on eight hits with three strikeouts and no walks.