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Pittsburgh, Pa. -
On Sunday's getaway day contest between the Millers and Dinos, a fight broke out.
The Millers and Dinos have had history over the past decade, and how the two clubs battled on Sunday - they now have the image of the rivalry.
"Pat's just a competitor and a really intense guy, he only knows one speed so I mean it sucks - we need him on the field." O'Hearn said to the media after the game. "But this only shows why I love to go to war with him everyday."
--
T7 AB3
Runners on first and second - SS Johnny Skolfield pulls a sharp ground ball on the right side to former Miller TJ Hendrickson.
Hendrickson pivots, and fired to SS Johnny Knott covering the bag .. when Vickers absolutely destroyed him on the slide going full speed and starting late.
We saw it then, you can see it on replay a million times and we all agree - he may have gone in a little bit to hard hard to break up that double play. But thats baseball right? It happens.
"He had a job to do, and he did it. It was a hard - nosed slide." Millers bench coach Zach Chandler said. "He's one of a kind in that regard. Throws his body around."
The feeling wasn't unanimous.
In a tight 2-1 game, the crowd of 23,000+ was in unison booing Vickers off the field. The tension was noticeable.
And then it happens, again
With the Dinos lined in a 'partial shift alignment', Gurley smacked a ball to the right side, where the right-handed 1B Ethan Nygren fielded the ball as his momentum takes him toward the second base bag - as they go turn two, Skolfield goes in hard to break it up.
Again the crowd gets loud.
We're talking 'early 90's, Veterans Stadium, Eagles hosting Dallas' type vulgarities spilling their displeasure with the Millers brand of baseball.
--
"Well - shoot, I'm not apologizing for those few slides," Millers Manager Jerry Russell said to the media. "But ..."
We'll finish that quote later.
--
Following SC Zhang setting down LA in order in the bottom of the 7th, the real fireworks were beginning.
"It's what we do man, we have to be aggressive. Teams know that and sometimes it pisses them off" RF Amadeu Cleto said.
Milt Stoll has never been confused for a track star, but after he drew the walk to leadoff the inning, everyone inside Sonata Stadium was intrigued and had the same thought.
"What if this guy hits a grounder now?"
After a failed attempt to bunt for a hit on the first pitch, Amadeu Cleto ripped a ground ball to Nygren .. his throw is looped in the attempt to avoid Stoll .. it also just so happens to take Knott off the bag slightly, which lead to ..
Yep. They did it again.
After Knott gets taken out for a third time, the crowd has now seen enough. The building was loud. A constant stream of Boo's leading into the Dave Foshee AB.
-
'Ball'
-
They carried on.
-
That all turned to a loud roar when Dave Foshee swung at strike three and missed, resulting in a non GB out.
Up next was Robby McGowan. He was welcome to another loud constant stream of disapproval from the crowd.
"Swing and a miss - Strike one"
The crowd goes loud once again.
"Strike two."
At this point, the building has the feel of a playoff atmosphere. While not filled to max capacity, that's an experienced crowd that can offer a strong home field advantage.
The pitch that's thrown, a 83mph curveball, intended to bounce just after the plate, instead stays up around McGowan's belt, where he turns that into a double in the gap, scoring two.
The crowd goes silent. Mostly in anger.
"I got a mistake pitch there, recognized it early and put a good swing on it." He said after the game. If Stolly doesn't go hard into the bag, that could have been two." McGowan remarked post - game.
-
Next up, River Shiffman.
First pitch starts off right down the middle.
"Ball"
The crowd has a new enemy, as the second pitch hits the same spot as its prior.
"Strike"
The level of confusion in the building, the emotions, the tension was continuing to build. After a ball that barely misses.
Shiffman found himself in a hitters count.
"He destroyed it. The pimp job was warranted" Jamie O' Hearn said jokingly.
River Shiffman blasted his 5th career home run - opposite field, 424ft.
As the crowd goes silent, the Millers dugout grows deafening.
Shiffman stands in the box posing for his picturesque moon shot, he begins his trot to first with his bat held high in his right arm, before finally tossing it in the air approaching the coaches box.
"Riv's a guy fighting to be on this team, and to hit a ball the way he did ... in the spot of the game that he did? I'm not surprised that he showed that emotion" Millers Manager Jerry Russell disclosed.
That was it for Smartwood. Now enter - DJ Palmer to face the Pat 'The Villain' Vickers.
After getting ahead in the count, Palmer asks the catcher to come to the mound for an oddly timed visit.
The next pitch was the grand finale.
The 94 mile per hour heater that struck Vickers square in the back and finally set the flame to the gas.
As Vickers turns to head up the first base line, he begins yelling at Palmer -
"What the f**k was that DJ"
After Palmer returns fire, Vickers sprints directly toward Palmer.
Insanity ensues. Palmer throws his glove toward the approaching Vickers and reaches for his jersey .. Comes over the top with a blow that just avoids the jaw of Vickers, who steps back a split second from contact.
Return fire.
Vickers returns with a cross that lands square on the cheekbone of the pitcher and forces Palmer back, just as a mob of teammates clashes with their opposition as if they were on a charge during the civil war.
There were 'pushes' offered, but no other punches thrown. There were only two.
After the teams were separated, it was Vickers and Palmer alone who were ejected.
And the league wasted no time, suspending both players for 9 games.
"I gotta be smarter. This is on me, and I let my teammates down." A reserved Pat Vickers said to the media this morning.
This was a game that could define the season. If anything, it certainly shows the way that the Millers play.
"Whatever it takes to win. The only people who believe in us are the guys in this room, and we gotta stick together. Pat wont be able to play for a bit, but DG and even Dowling can hold that spot down till he gets back. We're playing well right now, we just need to keep winning games." O'Hearn said before heading back down the tunnel to the batting cage.
We mentioned before that Jerry Russell had more to his reaction.
"Well - shoot, I'm not apologizing for those two slides ..
but..
I am sorry that my second baseman punched the pitcher in the face on 'Kids run the bases' day."
And for the next nine games Jer,
We all are.
On Sunday's getaway day contest between the Millers and Dinos, a fight broke out.
The Millers and Dinos have had history over the past decade, and how the two clubs battled on Sunday - they now have the image of the rivalry.
"Pat's just a competitor and a really intense guy, he only knows one speed so I mean it sucks - we need him on the field." O'Hearn said to the media after the game. "But this only shows why I love to go to war with him everyday."
--
T7 AB3
Runners on first and second - SS Johnny Skolfield pulls a sharp ground ball on the right side to former Miller TJ Hendrickson.
Hendrickson pivots, and fired to SS Johnny Knott covering the bag .. when Vickers absolutely destroyed him on the slide going full speed and starting late.
We saw it then, you can see it on replay a million times and we all agree - he may have gone in a little bit to hard hard to break up that double play. But thats baseball right? It happens.
"He had a job to do, and he did it. It was a hard - nosed slide." Millers bench coach Zach Chandler said. "He's one of a kind in that regard. Throws his body around."
The feeling wasn't unanimous.
In a tight 2-1 game, the crowd of 23,000+ was in unison booing Vickers off the field. The tension was noticeable.
And then it happens, again
With the Dinos lined in a 'partial shift alignment', Gurley smacked a ball to the right side, where the right-handed 1B Ethan Nygren fielded the ball as his momentum takes him toward the second base bag - as they go turn two, Skolfield goes in hard to break it up.
Again the crowd gets loud.
We're talking 'early 90's, Veterans Stadium, Eagles hosting Dallas' type vulgarities spilling their displeasure with the Millers brand of baseball.
--
"Well - shoot, I'm not apologizing for those few slides," Millers Manager Jerry Russell said to the media. "But ..."
We'll finish that quote later.
--
Following SC Zhang setting down LA in order in the bottom of the 7th, the real fireworks were beginning.
"It's what we do man, we have to be aggressive. Teams know that and sometimes it pisses them off" RF Amadeu Cleto said.
Milt Stoll has never been confused for a track star, but after he drew the walk to leadoff the inning, everyone inside Sonata Stadium was intrigued and had the same thought.
"What if this guy hits a grounder now?"
After a failed attempt to bunt for a hit on the first pitch, Amadeu Cleto ripped a ground ball to Nygren .. his throw is looped in the attempt to avoid Stoll .. it also just so happens to take Knott off the bag slightly, which lead to ..
Yep. They did it again.
After Knott gets taken out for a third time, the crowd has now seen enough. The building was loud. A constant stream of Boo's leading into the Dave Foshee AB.
-
'Ball'
-
They carried on.
-
That all turned to a loud roar when Dave Foshee swung at strike three and missed, resulting in a non GB out.
Up next was Robby McGowan. He was welcome to another loud constant stream of disapproval from the crowd.
"Swing and a miss - Strike one"
The crowd goes loud once again.
"Strike two."
At this point, the building has the feel of a playoff atmosphere. While not filled to max capacity, that's an experienced crowd that can offer a strong home field advantage.
The pitch that's thrown, a 83mph curveball, intended to bounce just after the plate, instead stays up around McGowan's belt, where he turns that into a double in the gap, scoring two.
The crowd goes silent. Mostly in anger.
"I got a mistake pitch there, recognized it early and put a good swing on it." He said after the game. If Stolly doesn't go hard into the bag, that could have been two." McGowan remarked post - game.
-
Next up, River Shiffman.
First pitch starts off right down the middle.
"Ball"
The crowd has a new enemy, as the second pitch hits the same spot as its prior.
"Strike"
The level of confusion in the building, the emotions, the tension was continuing to build. After a ball that barely misses.
Shiffman found himself in a hitters count.
"He destroyed it. The pimp job was warranted" Jamie O' Hearn said jokingly.
River Shiffman blasted his 5th career home run - opposite field, 424ft.
As the crowd goes silent, the Millers dugout grows deafening.
Shiffman stands in the box posing for his picturesque moon shot, he begins his trot to first with his bat held high in his right arm, before finally tossing it in the air approaching the coaches box.
"Riv's a guy fighting to be on this team, and to hit a ball the way he did ... in the spot of the game that he did? I'm not surprised that he showed that emotion" Millers Manager Jerry Russell disclosed.
That was it for Smartwood. Now enter - DJ Palmer to face the Pat 'The Villain' Vickers.
After getting ahead in the count, Palmer asks the catcher to come to the mound for an oddly timed visit.
The next pitch was the grand finale.
The 94 mile per hour heater that struck Vickers square in the back and finally set the flame to the gas.
As Vickers turns to head up the first base line, he begins yelling at Palmer -
"What the f**k was that DJ"
After Palmer returns fire, Vickers sprints directly toward Palmer.
Insanity ensues. Palmer throws his glove toward the approaching Vickers and reaches for his jersey .. Comes over the top with a blow that just avoids the jaw of Vickers, who steps back a split second from contact.
Return fire.
Vickers returns with a cross that lands square on the cheekbone of the pitcher and forces Palmer back, just as a mob of teammates clashes with their opposition as if they were on a charge during the civil war.
There were 'pushes' offered, but no other punches thrown. There were only two.
After the teams were separated, it was Vickers and Palmer alone who were ejected.
And the league wasted no time, suspending both players for 9 games.
"I gotta be smarter. This is on me, and I let my teammates down." A reserved Pat Vickers said to the media this morning.
This was a game that could define the season. If anything, it certainly shows the way that the Millers play.
"Whatever it takes to win. The only people who believe in us are the guys in this room, and we gotta stick together. Pat wont be able to play for a bit, but DG and even Dowling can hold that spot down till he gets back. We're playing well right now, we just need to keep winning games." O'Hearn said before heading back down the tunnel to the batting cage.
We mentioned before that Jerry Russell had more to his reaction.
"Well - shoot, I'm not apologizing for those two slides ..
but..
I am sorry that my second baseman punched the pitcher in the face on 'Kids run the bases' day."
And for the next nine games Jer,
We all are.
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