New York Mets outfielder Dom Smith called out Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Jose Alvarado after a bench-clearing incident on Friday.
Pile drama on top of more drama and you’ll get a good summation of what went down between the Mets and the Phillies in Game 1 of their series in Philadelphia.
Dom Smith did little to pour water on the flames after the Phillies won 2-1. When asked about the confrontation between him and pitcher Jose Alvarado, he actually added gasoline.
“He waited for his team to grab him. He can meet me in the tunnel tomorrow if he really wants to get after it,” Smith said after the game, according to Deesha Thosar of the New York Daily News.
Dom Smith and Jose Alvarado have big beef
Here’s what happened: Alvarado struck out Smith in the top of the eighth. As he walked off the mound, he sent some choice words Smith’s way. Smith responded. The Phillies and Mets benches cleared.
Smith and Alvarado have been at each other’s throats for a while now. In the previous series, when Alvarado hit Michael Conforto with a pitch after buzzing him high, Smith was the one who jumped to Conforto’s defense.
That history definitely factored into the drama on Friday night.
There are no winners in this situation. Not the players or the fans. Definitely not the teams. If Smith and Alvarado really do feel that strongly about it, they can fight and get suspended by MLB over it. It’s not like their teams could use their help to win baseball games or anything.
The Phillies are first in the NL East at 13-13, but the Braves, Nationals, Mets and Marlins are all within 1.5 games. The Mets are 9-11 and sitting on a three-game losing streak. In fact, they’ve lost eight of the last 11.