CINCINNATI -- Derek Dietrich isn't making friends in the Steel City.
Facing Alex McRae, who was called up Monday afternoon from Triple-A Indianapolis, in Game 2 of the Pirates' doubleheader vs. the Reds, Dietrich did this:
That came in the seventh inning of a blowout. And if that context wasn't enough, Dietrich's postgame comments were almost as incendiary.
“I talked to my hitting coach, Turner Ward. He said, ‘Slow yourself down and back it up.’ That’s what I did,” Dietrich said after the game. “Unfortunately, I got out a little slow out of the box again because I slowed down and backed it up. I listen to my coaches. I’m very coachable. I’m glad we won tonight.”
Dude's got jokes. It's not the first time Dietrich did this against the Pirates, of course. His admiration of a home run off Chris Archer at PNC Park back in April incited a brawl and inspired Dejan Kovacevic to write a column, so the history here is well established.
Monday, Dietrich probably didn't have to do what he did. No, he definitely didn't need to do that.
But did it bother McRae? I asked him Tuesday inside the visitors' clubhouse at Great American Ball Park before the Pirates' Game 3 vs. the Reds:
His hesitation at the beginning, combined with his full response, tells me what I need to know. Of course it's annoying. It'd be annoying in a backyard Wiffle ball game if your uncle did it to you, and it's just as annoying at the pro level.
But McRae is quick to admit pitchers show emotion after strikeouts or crucial outs, as well. It's a double-edged sword, and he was well aware that he served Dietrich a bad pitch.
Making matters worse, McRae's very next pitch to Yasiel Puig met the same fate. I wondered if Dietrich's antics got stuck in McRae's head and caused him to serve up a second meatball.
"It's unrelated," McRae said. "I just didn't execute a pitch, and those two guys are good hitters. They're going to make you pay. They don't miss those bad pitches that are left over the plate, so it's unrelated. It just happened to be on back-to-back pitches."
HUNTER'S VIEW
I covered this in detail during Monday night's Game Report, but in short, I liked what I saw from Dietrich and I liked what I heard from McRae today. The game should always be fun and it should always have an element of showmanship. Was that really the best time for Dietrich to celebrate? Definitely not, but that's what makes him all the more polarizing.