Tempers Flare In Game 3 Of NLCS
POSTED: 7:33 pm HST October 12,
2008
Los Angeles, CA -- (Sports Network) - Tempers flared and the benches emptied in the third inning of Sunday's Game 3 of the National League Championship Series between the Philadelphia Phillies and Dodgers.Los Angeles won the game, 7-2, but still trail the best-of-seven series. LA's Hiroki Kuroda threw a high pitch over Shane Victorino's head. Victorino jawed at Kuroda and appeared to say, "It's OK to throw at my body, but not my head." Victorino then grounded out to first base but had words for Kuroda. Dodgers left fielder Manny Ramirez, who had a pitch go by his head on Friday from Brett Myers, had to be held back by teammate Russell Martin as the dugouts emptied. "When you start throwing at people's heads there's a good chance somebody's going to get hurt," said Phillies manager Charlie Manuel. "That's not what these postseasons are about, that's not what baseball's about. Pitching and pitching inside and moving the ball around are all part of the game, but at the same time you start throwing the ball up around people's head...there's no place in baseball for that." Umpires warned both benches and there were no ejections. The players then left the field for the bottom of the third. "We were mad about what happened in Philly," said Ramirez. "We weren't trying to hit Victorino. He's a great guy. We were just trying to send a message. I was just trying to protect the team." Kuroda's pitch was apparently also in retaliation for the Phillies throwing at Martin. Jamie Moyer hit Martin with a pitch on the left leg in the first inning, and in the second Clay Condrey's offering was up near Martin's head. Martin was hit again by a pitch in the seventh inning.
Copyright 2008 Courtesy of The Sports Network.








