A day after their catcher was “splattered,” the Rockies’ anger with San Diego Padres outfielder Brian Giles manifested into a feud Wednesday.
Rockies reliever Tom Martin hit Giles with a fastball in the right hip in his fifth at-bat, sparking a verbal barrage from the Padres star and Rockies manager Clint Hurdle running on the field. The anger bled into the clubhouses afterward.
“You mean they were throwing at (Giles)?” Padres manager Bruce Bochy said sarcastically. “Why, because he plays the game right? If that’s why they hit him, it’s not right. Now we can say that we have 13 games left (against them).”
Hurdle and Martin both denied Giles was hit intentionally. His eighth-inning plunking came in the wake of his slide into home plate Tuesday. Giles, attempting to break up a double play, slid hard into catcher Danny Ardoin’s right calf and shin, knocking him off his feet. Plate umpire Joe West ruled obstruction, awarding the Rockies two outs.
“We had a chance to make a statement. It’s unfortunate Giles got hit,” Hurdle said. “It’s also unfortunate Danny got splattered. We will not be intimidated by anyone.”
Ardoin did not start Wednesday but was available to pinch hit after receiving treatment on his leg where Giles’ knee struck him. Giles implied Martin hit him on purpose and maintained his innocence, explaining, “I would do the same thing again.”
Ardoin said of the play: “It was hard-nosed. But it could have been career-ending.”
Rockies reliever Ray King labeled Giles’ slide “dirty,” adding: “There’s no excuse for it.”
Reached by The Denver Post, Bob Watson, baseball’s vice president of on-field operations, indicated Giles’ play would not be reviewed for a potential suspension. He called it “a clean slide out of the buffer zone that Joe West ruled correctly on.”
