Shortly after the Cubs finished off a 7-0 win over the Pirates on Monday at PNC Park, AT&T SportsNet's broadcast showed David Freese and third-base coach Joey Cora arguing in the dugout.
Gregory Polanco separated the two and held Cora back while Ivan Nova pulled Freese toward the other side of the dugout. Clint Hurdle, speaking to reporters in his postgame news conference, declined having knowledge of the incident. but Freese, back in the starting lineup Tuesday against the Cubs, offered some clarity shortly after Major League Baseball informed both teams Anthony Rizzo's slide was illegal.
"I'm not going to get into what went down," Freese said Tuesday in the Pirates' clubhouse. "All I'll say is me and Joe have been great since he got here. We had a little hiccup, we ironed it out and we're good to go. That's all I'll say about it, really."
The argument happened less than an hour after Anthony Rizzo knocked down Elias Diaz with a slide into home plate in the eighth inning, breaking up a double play by forcing Diaz's throw to soar over Josh Bell's head and into the outfield. Diaz laid in the infield grass in pain during the review. Although Diaz remained in the game, he was charged with an error and two runs scored.
The replay review confirmed the on-field ruling that Rizzo's slide was legal; however, MLB informed both teams Tuesday it should have been ruled a double play because Rizzo committed interference by leaving the basepath to make contact with Diaz.
One inning later, with the Pirates trailing 5-0 and two runners in scoring position, Richard Rodriguez decided to pitch to Rizzo. Rizzo lined a two-run single to center field, and the Pirates, now 28-25, went on to lose their third consecutive game. Although Sean Rodriguez, who made the throw home to Diaz for a force out with the bases loaded, told reporters afterwards he did not think Rizzo had "malicious intent," he said it was a time for players to "have each other's backs."