The Washington Nationals have been making headlines all season with
their play but on Wednesday the story was more than their 9-2 win over the
lowly Chicago Cubs. The Nats participated in two flare ups with the Cubs that led to
not one, but two bench-clearing "brawls."
The first of the two altercations came in the fifth inning when Nationals third base coach Bo Porter and Cubs bench coach Jamie Quirk exchanged some heated words after Jayson Werth swung at 3-0 pitch with the bases loaded and a 7-2 lead.
"It was the bench coach's frustration in us handing it to him for a
couple days," Nationals manager Davey Johnson said. "If they want to quit competing and forfeit,
then fine. But we're going to keep competing."
The benches and bullpens cleared, and Quirk was ejected from the game while Porter was not.
The second — and much more interesting — situation came in the next inning when Cubs pitcher Lendy Castillo threw the first pitch of the inning right at Bryce Harper. Not one to take anything lightly, Harper began the staredown while the respective benches and bullpens cleared once again.
Cubs catcher Steve Clevenger can be seen pushing Nationals players, leading to his ejection. Teammate Manny Corpas and Nationals reliever Michael Gonzalez were also ejected.
