PHOENIX — Clint Hurdle has no issue with the hit-by-pitch that began a Diamondbacks rally Monday night at Chase Field and hopes the act of retaliation helps maintain cohesiveness in a clubhouse that has endured 17 losses in its past 23 games.
Hurdle, speaking to reporters Tuesday afternoon, defended Joe Musgrove's decision to hit Chris Owings with a 95-mph fastball to lead off the bottom of the seventh inning, despite Owings later scoring one of the Diamondbacks' nine unanswered runs in the Pirates' 9-5 loss.
The loss prevented the Pirates from winning back-to-back games for the first time since May 17 and dropped them to 7 1/2 games back in the Central Division. Hurdle described Musgrove’s decision as "honorable," and explained the importance of defending a teammate.
"These guys are together every day," Hurdle said. "When you win it’s fun. When you don’t, you’re together every day. You have to figure out how to win together again and you have to figure out how to support one another when you’re not winning. It comes down to, again, the community. … I really like to see sometimes how your group reacts when adversity does strike because some teams settle. Some teams energize. We energized. The result might not be the one you want. It’s not the result anybody wanted, but I’ll go back to the point that pitches had the opportunity to be made after that and that doesn’t happen."
Musgrove's hit-by-pitch came a half inning after Diamondbacks reliever Braden Shipley's rising 96-mph fastball hit Josh Harrison in the left shoulder blade. Harrison, who was hit by pitches 23 times last season and spent five weeks on the disabled list earlier this season after a hit-by-pitch broke a bone in his left hand, left the game and was replaced by Sean Rodriguez.
Musgrove then hit Owings and the Diamondbacks proceeded to score five runs in the seventh inning to tie the score, including Jake Lamb's three-run homer off Edgar Santana. Kyle Crick and Dovydas Neverauskas then combined to allow four runs in the eighth.
Diamondbacks closer Brad Boxberger hit Rodriguez with a fastball in the hip to lead off the ninth inning after Neverauskas threw a 99-mph fastball high and inside to Paul Goldschmidt. Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo told reporters Tuesday he is confident Boxberger didn't hit Rodriguez on purpose. Lovullo also said he doesn't want his pitchers to retaliate against opponents and that Musgrove's hit-by-pitch sparked his team's resurgence.
"We were laying flat, dormant, being dominated by him," Lovullo said of Musgrove. "I felt like it gave our dugout a lot of energy."
Musgrove had yet to allow an extra-base hit and he needed only 57 pitches to get through five innings. The Diamondbacks had only two runners reach scoring position. Musgrove threw a wild pitch following the hit-by-pitch, allowing Owings to reach second base.
Owings later scored on a single by Nick Ahmed, Shipley reached on an error, Daniel Descalso hit an RBI single and Lamb tied it with his opposite-field homer. The Diamondbacks then piled on in the eighth when Crick and Neverauskas both threw a wild pitch, and Crick let a runner take third base on a balk.
Musgrove's hit-by-pitch wasn't directly responsible for the Diamondbacks' rally, but it seemed to re-energize a first-place opponent that had committed two errors earlier in the game. Harrison appreciated Musgrove's gesture and expressed frustration with pitchers throwing inside when they struggle with command.
"It felt good," Harrison said. "You never want anybody to get hurt, but this is our livelihood. We only play this game for so long. Regardless what it was, it was low. The guy missed up on me. He missed up on [Austin] Meadows. It wasn’t intentional, but you throw too hard to be throwing that high at the head."
Musgrove, meanwhile, didn't hide his intentions, saying "It’s nothing more than just protecting your teammates. They go back and hit Sean there. It’s baseball. That’s how the game is played."
The result was arguably the Pirates' worst loss of the season, and it was the beginning of the end of Musgrove's strong outing. Hurdle wasn't pleased with the result. Neither was Musgrove. However, the Pirates manager saw value in Musgrove's actions.
"When you’re fully committed to one another on a team concept that you want to protect one another," Hurdle said. "I think that’s inherent. I think that’s learned. That is honorable, especially when you have guys who have to leave the game or in the case of last night. ... We see it from a different lens. The importance of teammates taking a stand for one another, I think that is part of the game. To say, 'well, this did this to us or this did that to us,' I think everybody can construct their own narrative afterwards. But I know our man has been hit a ton. He’s been hit a lot. One of the things this club is working very hard to maintain is the cohesiveness through a tough period of play and not to back down or back away. Just plunking our guys, whether it’s accidental or not, is just not OK.'"