St Louis Cardinals

MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred announced Friday a pair of legendary first basemen, the St. Louis Cardinals' Albert Pujols and Detroit Tigers' Miguel Cabrera, will take part in the 2022 All-Star Game as legacy selections.

These two legends will be playing in the #AllStarGame!

See you in LA, @PujolsFive and @MiguelCabrera. pic.twitter.com/4oSTm2HtFx

— MLB (@MLB) July 8, 2022

The league will celebrate their career accomplishments as part of the 92nd Midsummer Classic, which will take place July 19 at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles.

Manfred said in a statement:

I am delighted that Albert Pujols and Miguel Cabrera have agreed to participate in the All-Star Game. Albert and Miguel are two of the most accomplished players of their generation. They have also represented the baseball traditions of the Dominican Republic and Venezuela with excellence for the last two decades. Albert and Miguel are two all-time greats whose achievements warrant this special recognition.

Pujols announced in March he will retire following the 2022 season. Cabrera told ESPN's Sage Steele last year that he plans to play out his contract (via Evan Petzold of the Detroit Free Press). His eight-year, $248 million deal is guaranteed through 2023.

They are two of the best pure hitters of their generation.

Pujols has compiled a .296/.374/.541 slash line across 3,016 games with the Cardinals, Los Angeles Angels and Los Angeles Dodgers. He debuted with St. Louis in 2001 and returned to the Cards for the 2022 season to put the final touches on his Hall of Fame career.

Final season, final All-Star Game!@PujolsFive is heading to LA! pic.twitter.com/8PJ6AjYCt3

— St. Louis Cardinals (@Cardinals) July 8, 2022

Cabrera, 39, reached the 3,000-hit plateau this season after surpassing the 500-homer mark in 2021. His career slash line stands at .310/.386/.528 after 2,657 appearances.

He's no longer the Triple Crown threat he was during his peak seasons, hitting just three long balls in 70 games this season, but he's still put up a .347 on-base percentage in 2022.

3,000 hits, 600 doubles, 500 home runs and now his 12th All Star appearance.

Miguel Cabrera has been selected to the American League All-Star team by Commissioner Rob Manfred for his accomplishments as one of the greatest hitters in baseball history. pic.twitter.com/RFSwt7eFBz

— Detroit Tigers (@tigers) July 8, 2022

Cabrera started his career with the Florida Marlins in 2003 before arriving in Detroit in 2008. He and Pujols have combined for 23 All-Star selections, 13 Silver Slugger Awards, five MVP Awards and three World Series titles.

Starters for the 2022 MLB All-Star Game will be announced Friday night followed by the full roster reveal Sunday.

Even if Albert Pujols isn't voted into the 2022 MLB All-Star Game, the veteran slugger could still suit up for the National League at Dodger Stadium later this month.

A new clause in the Collective Bargaining Agreement allows commissioner Rob Manfred to select an additional player to each roster in recognition of their career achievements, according to The Athletic's Ken Rosenthal.

"In addition to the 32 players elected and selected to the All-Star Game, the Commissioner may choose to add one player that he selects to each League’s roster, in recognition of each player’s career achievements," the clause states, per Rosenthal. "If special circumstances warrant, the Commissioner may select more than one player to each league’s roster."

It wouldn't be surprising to see Manfred select Pujols to the NL roster as this will be his last season in MLB. He confirmed in March that he would be hanging up the cleats after the 2022 campaign.

"This is it for me," Pujols said in March, per The St. Louis Post-Dispatch’s Derrick S. Goold. "This is my last run."

Pujols agreed to a one-year, $2.5 million deal to return to the Cardinals for the 2022 campaign. He began his Hall of Fame career in St. Louis in 2001, earning nine All-Star selections, three MVP awards, six Silver Sluggers, two Gold Gloves, one batting title and two World Series titles.

The 42-year-old also slashed .328/.421/.617 with 445 home runs and 1,329 RBI in 1,705 games in his first stint with the Cardinals.

Pujols left the Cardinals ahead of the 2012 season, signing a 10-year, $254 million contract with the Los Angeles Angels. He spent nine and a half seasons in Anaheim from 2012-21, slashing .256/.311/.447 with 222 home runs and 783 RBI in 1,181 games.

The Angels then traded him to the Los Angeles Dodgers last season, and he slashed .254/.299/.460 with 12 home runs and 38 RBI in 85 games. However, Pujols has struggled at the plate this season in his return to St. Louis, slashing .189/.282/.320 with four home runs and 17 RBI in 43 games.

In addition to Pujols, it's reasonable to believe Detroit Tigers slugger Miguel Cabrera would be a candidate to the join the AL roster.

The 39-year-old will also likely be headed to the Hall of Fame following a historic career that is set to end after the 2023 season. He said in August 2021 that he would play two more seasons before calling it quits.

"My right knee is really bad," Cabrera told ESPN (via Evan Petzold of the Detroit Free Press). "I need to take care of this in the offseason and prepare myself for next season. I say two more years. I think that's enough. I will be happy with 20 years in the big leagues if I can make it. Thank God for giving me this opportunity. Two more years and I'm done."

Cabrera began his career in 2003 with the then-Florida Marlins. He spent five seasons with the franchise, earning five All-Star selections and two Sliver slugger awards before signing with the Detroit Tigers ahead of the 2008 campaign.

In 15 seasons in the Motor City, Cabrera has earned seven All-Star selections, two MVP awards and five Silver Slugger awards. He's hitting .309/.386/.523 with 367 home runs and 1,308 RBI in 1,935 games in Detroit.

The Venezuelan is actually also amid a solid 2022 campaign, slashing .300/.338/.364 with three home runs and 27 RBI in 68 games.

The 2022 MLB All-Star Weekend runs from July 15-19 and will take place at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles.

St. Louis Cardinals catcher Yadier Molina is expected to be placed on the 10-day injured list Friday because of "persistent knee soreness that has ailed him through most of the 2022 season," according to Katie Woo of The Athletic.

Woo noted the Cardinals are preparing for Molina to miss "at least a few weeks."

The 39-year-old has settled into old age fairly well. His offense isn't as strong as it once was, with sub-.700 OPS marks in each of the past two seasons, but he still hit for a decent average in that stretch (.255). Yet he's hitting .213/.225/.294 in 38 games in 2022.

The Cardinals did play without Molina for three games from May 23 to May 25. He was placed on the bereavement list because his son had surgery stemming from an injury suffered playing baseball in Puerto Rico.

Now in his 19th season, Molina remains a dynamite defender. He threw out 41 percent of attempted base stealers last year, his second straight season over the 40 percent mark. He's at 38 percent for 2022.

The Cardinals signed Molina to a one-year contract extension in August 2021. His ability to manage the pitching staff has made him an invaluable member of the organization for nearly two decades.

Andrew Knizner will likely move into the starting lineup. The 27-year-old is hitting .198/.283/.257 in 101 at-bats this season.

St. Louis Cardinals starting pitcher Miles Mikolas was one pitch away from throwing a no-hitter on Tuesday, but it wasn't meant to be.

Pittsburgh Pirates outfielder Cal Mitchell spoiled the party with a two-out double in the ninth inning off a two-strike pitch from Mikolas. St. Louis then turned to reliever Packy Naughton to get the final out in the 9-1 victory.

2 outs, 2 strikes in the 9th…Miles Mikolas was THIS close to a no-hitter 😳 @BRWalkoff

(via @TalkinBaseball_) pic.twitter.com/xOXu6bv6Ut

— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) June 15, 2022

Mikolas settled for a final line of 129 pitches in 8.2 innings, with one hit, one walk and six strikeouts. After the game, he was honest about how he felt after losing a no-hitter in such devastating fashion:

Miles Mikolas on losing his no-hitter with two outs and two strikes in the 9th: "It kind of stinks.''

— Bob Nightengale (@BNightengale) June 15, 2022

"I can't say enough about our defense tonight. We were everywhere we had to be and making fantastic plays all game," Mikolas continued. "I kind of feel like I let them down after all the great defense that I got today."

Mikolas also assessed the mistake he made on the pitch to Mitchell, but he handled it in stride.

"Curveball's been pretty good all day, and maybe tried to overthrow it just a little bit, left it a little bit up. ... They put some really good swings on some good pitches today. And like I said, a couple deep fly balls to the track, that one kind of just kept going," Mikolas said.

Despite not getting a hit in the first eight-and-two-third innings, the Pirates recorded a run in the fourth when Daniel Vogelbach brought Bryan Reynolds home with a ground out to third. Reynolds had reached on a fielding error by St. Louis left fielder Juan Yepez.

Had Mikolas completed the no-hitter, it would've been the first one in which the opposing team scored a run since Ervin Santana's no-hitter in 2011.

Before we get to how they're flipping the script in 2022, is it fair to first establish that the St. Louis Cardinals have a reputation for being boring?

Why, yes. It is. Google knows. Run a search for "Cardinals boring," and the results range from Reddit threads to blog posts to even acceptance from within the organization.

"We are boring," president of baseball operations John Mozeliak told Bob Nightengale of USA Today back in March 2015, also adding: "Vanilla are our colored sprinkles."

That the Redbirds went on to win 100 games that year is perhaps the ultimate proof that being entertaining and being good are not mutually inclusive. From a broader perspective, there's also the fact that the Cardinals won the most games of any National League team between 2000 and 2021 despite their bland rap. Say what you will about the oft-mocked and vaguely defined "Cardinal Way," but there was something to it.

Yet in spite of all the familiar faces that are still in the Cardinals dugout on any given day, there's just something different about this year's team. Heck, something special.

At 32-23 for the season, the Cardinals quite good once again in 2022. They're also getting better, as their 12-5 run in their last 17 games has put them within a half-game of the Milwaukee Brewers in the NL Central. What's more, Milwaukee's plus-26 run differential isn't even half of St. Louis' plus-54 mark.

While this is pretty much business as usual for the Cardinals, what's not is that they're also just unusually fun to watch. In specific and very much quantifiable ways to some extents, yet also in ways that are very much not to other extents.

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Gotta Love That Corner Infield Duo

Back in April, the Cardinals hitter who was making it impossible to look away was Nolan Arenado. The veteran third baseman had one of the best months of his career, hitting .375 with five home runs to earn NL Player of the Month honors.

More recently, Paul Goldschmidt has stolen the spotlight from Arenado and, well, basically every other hitter in Major League Baseball.

The 34-year-old followed up Arenado's triumphant April with his own Player of the Month-winning effort in May, hitting .404 with 10 home runs and 33 runs driven in. He's the first player to hit all three of those marks in any month since Cody Bellinger in April of 2019, and only the ninth all-time to do it in May.

Is he still hot in June? Yeah, you bet he's still hot in June:

GOLDY GONE! pic.twitter.com/VV1CsGcfKq

— St. Louis Cardinals (@Cardinals) June 3, 2022

Goldschmidt is working on a season unlike even any of the ones he had in his days as an annual All-Star with the Arizona Diamondbacks between 2013 and 2018. His .343 average, .423 on-base percentage and 1.031 OPS are each tops among National League hitters, and he's on pace for over 200 hits and 30 home runs.

Though Arenado, who was a five-time All-Star for the Colorado Rockies before coming to St. Louis last year, cooled off around the time that Goldschmidt caught fire, he's started warming up again with a .357 average over his last seven games.

If this keeps up, the Goldschmidt-Arenado duo will be the two-headed monster that the Cardinals have been dreaming of since they paired the two last year.

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Gotta Love That Emerging Slugger

Nolan Gorman still leads the Triple-A International League in OPS at 1.044, and he likewise maintains a share of the lead in home runs with 15.

Not bad, considering he hasn't suited up for the Memphis Redbirds since May 18.

Those numbers basically made Gorman, 22, preordained to be a handful for major league pitchers, and that's proved to be the case as he's posted a .950 OPS and three home runs over his first 14 games.

Of all the words one could use to describe those home runs, "cheap" is not one of them:

FIRST MLB HOME RUN FOR @NolanGorman‼️ pic.twitter.com/r0mlSdP5rw

— St. Louis Cardinals (@Cardinals) May 28, 2022

That was Gorman going 449 feet for his first career homer on May 28. His other two homers also crossed the 400-foot threshold, and the average distance on all his batted balls comes out to 243 feet. That's presently the best such mark in baseball.

That's a lot of oomph for a guy who, at 6'1", 210 pounds, isn't exactly Judge-ian or Stanton-ian in stature. But it's always been there, with Keith Law of The Athletic noting that Gorman had 80-grade power potential even as a draft prospect in 2018.

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Gotta Love That One Electrifying Arm

Elsewhere on the topic of power, a Cardinals pitching staff that's primarily centered on veteran finesse types like Adam Wainwright, Miles Mikolas and Dakota Hudson nonetheless also features perhaps baseball's best pure power pitcher: Ryan Helsley.

Even as he's shared the bullpen with excellent closer Giovanny Gallegos, Helsley has had little trouble separating himself from the pack in allowing just one earned run on six hits and five walks through 21.1 innings.

The 27-year-old has also struck out 30 batters, including 15 on a fastball that he's run as high as 103 mph:

Ryan Helsley. 103mph 🔥 pic.twitter.com/22Eatp0NzC

— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) May 1, 2022

In addition to all that velocity, Helsley's heater is also in the 99th percentile for spin rate. Opposing hitters have yet to discover the solution for it, as they're just 2-for-37 against it.

Granted, Helsley doesn't have Josh Hader's 18 saves or 0.00 ERA. Yet he does boast an expected batting average of .087, the best of all qualified hurlers in the National League.

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Gotta Love That Defense and Baserunning

Statistically speaking, there's a case to be made that the Cardinals defense has actually regressed from 2021. It's gone from ranking second in efficiency and defensive runs saved last year to ranking joint-11th and joint-14th respectively in both departments thus far in 2022.

The eye test, though, is far kinder to this Cardinals defense.

In Arenado, Goldschmidt and Tommy Edman, the Redbirds have Gold Glovers in three of the four spots on their infield, which has allowed just a .213 average on ground balls.

Arenado has kept highlight reel editors busy:

Give Nolan Arenado the Gold Glove right now! pic.twitter.com/vPJUtndy29

— St. Louis Cardinals (@Cardinals) May 8, 2022

And yet perhaps not as busy as Edman has kept them:

It doesn't matter where you put @TommyEdman11. He's going to play elite defense!#STLCards x @ShaneCompany pic.twitter.com/qFtvT98vwn

— St. Louis Cardinals (@Cardinals) May 24, 2022

The Cardinals also have one of baseball's rangiest center fielders in Harrison Bader, and he's not alone in also excelling at punishing overly ambitious runners with his arm. The entire Cardinals outfield is tied for second with 12 assists, with Brendan Donovan accounting for three of those in just 87 innings in the field.

Yet the team's best arm is still stationed behind the plate, where Yadier Molina continues to make ridiculous throws even as his 40th birthday looms on July 13:

Play isn't as easy as it appears!#STLCards x @CapitalOne pic.twitter.com/9f02Nz8Kt9

— St. Louis Cardinals (@Cardinals) May 21, 2022

Meanwhile, other teams can only wish that they had their very own Molina behind the plate when they play the Cardinals.

That would make it easier to shut down a running game that's so far produced an MLB-best 44 stolen bases against only eight failed attempts. St. Louis baserunners also take an extra base on hits more than half the time they get the chance, and 34 percent of the runners the team puts on ultimately come home to score.

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Gotta Love That Vibe

To be sure, "fun" isn't always a manifestation of the abilities of individual players or of a team as a whole. It's also a vibe, and one that the Cardinals didn't emanate prior to 2022. Something resembling mechanical precision was what crafted their boring reputation.

"Those guys are like robots," former catcher Miguel Montero said of the Cardinals back in 2018. "They all play a certain way, and you never know who they are. But they are all good."

To this end, really the best illustration of how much the Cardinals have changed in 2022 has nothing to do with Goldschmidt's or Arenado's hitting, Gorman's slugging, Helsley's fireballing or any of their many talented defenders' defending.

Rather, it's Albert Pujols pitching on May 15:

Or, if you prefer, Molina taking the mound for a pitching appearance of his own just a week later on May 22:

Letting position players pitch was simply not part of the "Cardinal Way" before this year. Even as pitching appearances by hitters proliferated in 2019 and especially in 2021, then-manager Mike Shildt let just one position player take the mound both years.

New manager Oliver Marmol has not only gone to that well twice already, but with two of the most celebrated players in the history of the franchise and the sport at large to boot. That surely speaks to how much more casually the 35-year-old skipper is operating, and yet he's doing so while also commanding respect even from the club's trifecta of foremost veterans.

"I think he was being groomed to be the manager," Wainwright, 40, told Hannah Keyser of Yahoo.

"He's young, but this is a guy that has a lot of wisdom," added Pujols. "Knows the game more than what you think."

It would also be a monumental oversight to ignore what Pujols himself has meant to these Cardinals. Throughout his first 21 seasons in the majors, he was the ultimate professional as he put together a resume worthy of the inner circle of the Hall of Fame. But now, in his return to St. Louis after a decade away, the 42-year-old's lighter side is really coming through.

"You have to have fun," Pujols told ESPN's Jesse Rogers. "I'm blessed to be back here where it all started."

It's oh so tempting to consider all this and conclude that the "Cardinal Way" must finally be dead. But maybe that's taking it too far. Instead, perhaps it's simply evolved.

Whatever this new form is, one thing it's certainly not is boring.

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Stats courtesy of Baseball Reference, FanGraphs and Baseball Savant.

St. Louis Cardinals rookie third baseman Brendan Donovan issued an apology Saturday night for tweets from his past that contained anti-gay language.

According to Sarah Trotto of the Associated Press, the tweets were sent in 2011 and 2013, and at least one of them used an anti-gay slur. The tweets surfaced during the Cardinals' doubleheader against the Chicago Cubs, and Donovan's account was deleted shortly after the second game was completed.

Donovan referred to the language he used as "playful banter" with a friend.

"I take full responsibility," Donovan told reporters. "It was something I sent out a long time ago. I'm truly sorry to anyone I may have offended. Anyone that knows me as a person knows I see everyone the same, and I do not condone that type of behavior or anything. If I've offended you, I truly apologize. Hopefully, I can do my part to show you that’s not who I am."

Donovan hit a two-run double in the 10th inning of the second game Saturday to help lead St. Louis to a 7-4 victory to split the doubleheader.

The Cardinals plan to hold Pride Night at Busch Stadium on Friday. The team will donate a portion of each ticket package sold to PFLAG of Greater St. Louis.

St. Louis will close out its series against Chicago on Sunday night.

The St. Louis Cardinals called up a pair of prospects on Thursday who share an interesting backstory.

Matthew Liberatore and Nolan Gorman have been lifelong best friends, and now they will be joining a major league team together.

https://twitter.com/JomboyMedia/status/1527407009900941346

An infielder who plays both second and third base, Gorman is ranked as the No. 29 overall prospect in MLB while Liberatore, a lefty pitcher, is ranked No. 39.

Liberatore and Gorman were selected three picks apart in the 2018 MLB draft. The Tampa Bay Rays chose the southpaw hurler with the 16th pick, and the Cardinals landed Gorman at No. 19. Tampa Bay traded Liberatore to St. Louis in January 2020 as part of a deal centered around Randy Arozarena.

The Cardinals fell to 20-18 on Thursday with a 7-6 loss to the New York Mets in 10 innings on a walk-off two-run homer by Pete Alonso. St. Louis will begin a three-game series against the Pittsburgh Pirates on Friday.

St. Louis Cardinals veteran first baseman Albert Pujols continues to work his way up the MLB record books.

In the second inning of Wednesday's game against the New York Mets, Pujols hit a two-run single that was the 3,313th hit of his career, tying Eddie Collins for 10th in MLB history.

Not only does Pujols tie the game, he also tied Eddie Collins for 10th all-time in MLB hits with 3,313! pic.twitter.com/knC53HPFPW

— St. Louis Cardinals (@Cardinals) May 18, 2022

Pujols is in his 22nd and final season in MLB, as he announced that he plans on retiring when the year is over. He signed with the Cardinals on a one-year deal to return to the team with which he spent the first 11 years of his career.

Through 17 appearances entering Wednesday, Pujols was batting .239 with two home runs and six RBI. The 42-year-old has spent time as designated hitter for St. Louis. He also made the first pitching appearance of his career during Sunday's blowout 15-6 win over the San Francisco Giants. He pitched the ninth inning and surrendered a three-run home run as well as a solo blast, but he managed to get the final three outs.

"A dream come true to say that I did it," Pujols said. "It was fun. It wasn't fun giving up two bombs. I think the fans had a good time. I'm sure the guys that took me deep did, too."

The Cardinals are second in the National League Central with a 20-16 record entering Wednesday. 

The St. Louis Cardinals defeated the New York Mets 10-5 Wednesday, but the victory came at a cost.

ESPN's Jesse Rogers reported third baseman Nolan Arenado was suspended two games and relief pitcher Genesis Cabrera was suspended one game for their roles in a benches-clearing brawl that overshadowed the game.

Joel Sherman of the New York Post noted those weren't the only punishments:

MLB gave a 2-game suspension to Nolan Arenado and a 1-game suspension to Genesis Cabrera for their involvement in the Cardinals-Mets hostilities. Yoan Lopez and Taijuan Walker of the Mets received fines, as did Jack Flaherty of the Cardinals.

— Joel Sherman (@Joelsherman1) April 28, 2022

The Associated Press added context to the brawl, noting the Cardinals hit three Mets batters during Tuesday's game. Cabrera hit J.D. Davis in the top of the eighth inning of Wednesday's contest, which marked a major league-leading 19 hit-by-pitches for New York batters.

Mets reliever Yoan Lopez then threw a pitch near Arenado's head in the bottom of the eighth, and the third baseman started yelling at the pitcher before the benches and bullpens cleared onto the field.

"When you come up top like that and jeopardize someone's career and life, yeah, I take exception to that," Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol said. "And I don't think anyone in the big leagues appreciates getting thrown up top."

Arenado and Cardinals first base coach Stubby Clapp, who appeared to tackle Pete Alonso of the Mets, were ejected.

"Genesis Cabrera grabbed me by the back of the collar and then he just ripped down and then the coach just kind of jumped on me and I thought that was kind of cheap going from behind," Alonso said. "I mean, if you want to hold me back, if you want to restrain me, go at me like a man."

As for the actual game, the Cardinals scored five of their 10 runs in a fourth-inning rally that included an RBI double from Tommy Edman and a two-RBI triple from Dylan Carlson.

Arenado went 3-for-3 with three RBI and one run while helping St. Louis snap a three-game losing streak.

It was the final matchup of a three-game set, and the two teams play four straight against each other from May 16-19.          

The St. Louis Cardinals and New York Mets engaged in a benches-clearing scuffle in the eighth inning of St. Louis' 10-5 win on Wednesday after Yoan Lopez threw up and in to Nolan Arenado.

Benches and bullpens clear in St. Louis after a pitch went up-and-in to Nolan Arenado 😳

(via @BallySportsMW) pic.twitter.com/BEdT8KnOsI

— B/R Walk-Off (@BRWalkoff) April 27, 2022

After the game, Cardinals manager Oli Marmol was not pleased with the pitch:

Cardinals Manager Oli Marmol said he "took exception" to how the Mets threw up and in to Nolan Arenado

"When you come up top like that and jeopardize someone's career and life, yeah I take exception to that" pic.twitter.com/MRI2QOfeRf

— SNY (@SNYtv) April 27, 2022

"I didn't love it. At all," he said of the pitch. "... I don't think anyone in the big leagues appreciates getting thrown up top. Nolan has every right to react the way he did and go after him, and we'll protect that."

Arenado told reporters after the game that he didn't like Lopez pitching him tight.

"I don't know how close it was. It just felt close. It was just high," he said. "I'm not saying he's trying to throw it up there. It's just the ball got away, but that's the problem with that stuff."

During the fracas, Cardinals first-base coach Stubby Clapp tackled Mets first baseman Pete Alonso. Marmol told reporters he was fine with that decision:

Oli Marmol said he had "no issue" with how Stubby Clapp tackled Pete Alonso during the benches-clearing incident

"I'm okay with it" pic.twitter.com/TWDhdjy8sJ

— SNY (@SNYtv) April 27, 2022

Alonso had his own take on the situation.

"It's something that started for no reason," he told reporters. "... I know it's a five-run ballgame, but we're trying to come back. To me, the whole thing didn't even make sense."

🎥 Pete Alonso minces no words regarding today's altercation. "If I wanted to put somebody in the hospital, I easily could." Says he was simply protecting his teammates when he was thrown to the ground: pic.twitter.com/iPTlLr5SiL

— Anthony DiComo (@AnthonyDiComo) April 27, 2022

"I got pulled from behind," he added of being tackled. "Actually Genesis Cabrera grabbed me by the back of the collar and then he just ripped down, and then the coach just kinda jumped on me. I thought that was kinda cheap, going from behind. If you wanna hold me back, if you wanna restrain me, go at me like a man."

Mets manager Buck Showalter wasn't thrilled with the ordeal either:

Does Buck Showalter think Nolan Arenado's reaction was out of line?

"I know our player got hit in the head and went to first base" pic.twitter.com/E8W0XhW1N0

— SNY (@SNYtv) April 27, 2022

Both Clapp and Arenado were ejected from the game after the confrontation. Lopez remained in the contest.

The Mets had been hit by 18 pitches coming into Wednesday's game and have been vocal about their frustrations, so Arenado and the Cardinals clearly felt like Lopez's buzzing pitch was a retaliatory message. In Tuesday's game between the teams, three Mets and two Cardinals were hit by pitches, including Alonso in the head.

Per the Associated Press (h/t ESPN), "Lopez was high-fived by several teammates when he returned to the dugout after the inning," perhaps backing up St. Louis' assumption that he purposefully went high on Arenado.