Phillies' Castellanos speaks out after Rays' Uceta was sent off

PHILADELPHIA – Tampa Bay Rays reliever Edwin Uceta was ejected in his team's 9-4 loss to the Philadelphia Phillies on Tuesday night after hitting Nick Castellanos with a pitch.

Castellanos, for his part, said he knew it was coming.

Uceta allowed a game-winning two-run double from pinch-hitter Cal Stevenson in the eighth inning, then allowed an RBI single from Buddy Kennedy, a two-run homer from Trea Turner and a double from Bryce Harper before Castellanos came to bat.

Uceta's pitch hit the Phillies batter in the hip, causing both the benches and bullpens to empty and the players to gather on the infield grass.

“I had the overwhelming feeling that I was about to be drilled,” Castellanos said. “We all had an idea what it was – he was just [ticked] after that he got pushed around and his ERA shot through the roof.”

Uceta, who entered the game with a 0.79 ERA, said it was not a purpose pitch but a changeup; MLB's StatCast said it was a 96 mph sinker.

The Phillies, however, didn’t believe him.

“You get frustrated and yell at someone,” he said. “It's like my two-year-old throwing a tantrum because I took away his dessert before he finished it.”

Harper said what happened had nothing to do with baseball.

“That's not the game we play, man,” he said. “It shouldn't be. Guys throw too hard these days. You get mad because a guy hits a home run against you or you blow the lead and let the guy walk and get out of the game.”

“The situation, the whole thing, really made me angry and really upset. This is just not something that should be accepted in Major League Baseball.”

Harper briskly marched toward the mound and yelled at the Rays pitcher after it happened, saying he refrained from a physical confrontation because Uceta never turned to look at him.

“I didn't want to be the loser and run after him,” Harper said. “If he turns around, then it's fine, let's go.”

Harper had three doubles in a game for the third time in his career and the first since August 2021.

This report uses information from the Associated Press.