Mikolas drills Happ for accidentally injuring catcher, a breakdown
What Happened
In a heated NL Central matchup between the Chicago Cubs and St. Louis Cardinals, a seemingly accidental hit-by-pitch sparks retaliation from Cardinals pitcher Miles Mikolas. In the top of the first inning, Cubs outfielder Ian Happ steps to the plate against Cardinals starter Miles Mikolas. On a 2-0 count, Happ's backswing accidentally hits Cardinals catcher Willson Contreras in the head, drawing blood. Happ immediately apologizes, clearly distraught over the unintentional incident. Contreras, a former teammate of Happ's, wants to stay in the game but is ultimately removed due to the injury. Mikolas takes exception to the accident, staring down the Cubs dugout and telling Contreras "I've got you." True to his word, Mikolas drills Happ with his first pitch after the incident, hitting him in the backside. Happ calmly takes his base, acknowledging that Mikolas had warned he would retaliate. The umpires immediately eject Mikolas, much to his dismay. He argues vehemently, insisting the pitch slipped due to the hot, humid conditions and his sweaty hands. The ejection sparks a heated exchange, with Mikolas turning to the Cubs dugout and challenging them to "come out" as the benches begin to clear. Cardinals pitcher Jack Flaherty is held back as he shouts at Mikolas to "sit down." Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol tries to de-escalate the situation, but the umpire ejects him as well for telling them to "keep them on the field." With the Cardinals now without their starting pitcher and manager, the Cubs take advantage. Ian Happ moves to second base on a single, then scores the game's first run on a four-pitch walk. The Cubs go on to win the game easily, much to the delight of their enthusiastic fans. In the end, this tense exchange stemmed from an accidental hit-by-pitch, highlighting the fine line between competitiveness and sportsmanship in the game of baseball.
Full Transcript
Click timestamps to jump to that momentWe had retaliation for a complete accident in the first inning of this Cubs-Cardinals game.
This breakdown is brought to you by DraftKings. Michaelis pitching to Hap. Contreras is the
catcher. We have a 2-0 count swing and backswing hits Contreras right in the head. Hap and Contreras
were teammates for six years. He doesn't want to do that. He doesn't want to see that. Oh,
and there's blood off the side of his head. And Hap sees that and says, my bad, man. And then he
sees the blood. He says, oh, shit. I don't like that. The trainer comes out. It's dripping into
his hand. All reports say Contreras wanted to stay in the game. Hap said he felt awful afterwards.
No one wants to see that happen. Michaelis comes up and says, don't worry, Willie. I gotcha.
I gotcha. Stares at the Cubs dugout. I gotcha. Long backswing from Contreras. Bat hits him right
in the head. This happens to him a decent amount. Catchers interference are also happening a ton.
Catchers are just getting a little closer. Batters are getting a little further away,
trying to steal strikes and fastballs being faster. And it just gets him in an awkward spot
of the helmet, I guess, or under the helmet. I'm not sure. But they had to take him out of the game
and they do hug. He says, hey, man. He says, I love you. Good job. Sorry. All that good stuff.
The new catcher comes in and Michaelis waves and says, I'm hitting him with the first pitch. He's
like, oh, OK. Hap steps into the box and says to the ump, you know he's going to hit me, right?
I'm just like, OK, we'll just see what happens. Please don't tell me the future, Hap. First pitch
after the incident, up and in, misses him. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Next pitch, a little lower,
hits him right on the tush. And Hap takes his base and says, well, he did. He did tell Willie
he was going to get his back. And I was standing right next to him. So that makes sense. I heard
him. Now the umpires are going to get together. And he says, well, you know, they hit him with
and that was probably intentional. So they eject him right away. Michaelis says, how do you toss me?
How do you toss me? And the umpire says, well, we think that was intentional. No, absolutely not.
Absolutely not. It's hot outside. My hands are slippery. He hits our catcher and it's an accident.
I throw a ball inside. It slips and it's my fault. That's unacceptable. That is unacceptable.
Uh-uh. No, unacceptable. That is unacceptable.
Unacceptable. That is unacceptable. Garbage. That is unacceptable. Fuck you. Fuck you.
My hands are slippery. Dog ate my homework. Gets an ovation from some of the audience,
but then he's going to turn to address the Cubs dugout, which is barking really loud. He says,
hey, let's go. Come on, let's go. Come out. You want to come out? Hey, you, come on, Stro.
Talking to you. Yeah, come on.
Short sign. Come on. Come on, Stro. Come on. Come on out. Strowman laughing. What? I'm not
going to come out, man. Jack Flaherty, sit your ass down. Sit the fuck down, Jack. Shut the fuck
up. Shut the fuck up. Hey, there we go. There we go, boys. Got him fired up now. Now Cardinals
coaches just getting the rundown from the umpire and they're talking. He's like, okay, it's all
sorted. And then Marmol says,
need all of you guys to keep them that way. Umpire says, don't tell me what to do. Hey,
you're out of here. You're gone. Marmol's like, what? We were cordial. I just want you to keep
them on the field. Um says, don't tell me what to do. I'm out. Now you got Hap on first base,
a new pitcher and a new catcher in the game. And Belly's going to take that fastball right up the
middle. That moves Hap to second base. Now he's in scoring position. That's nice. Next batter,
five pitch walk. That moves Hap to third.
Four pitch walk. That scores Ian Hap and the Cubs take a one nothing lead in the first due to the
hit by pitch. Next batter comes up, takes that hanger into left field to score a couple more
runs. The Cubs would go on to win this game easily. And these fans are excited. Yes, sir.
Yes, sir. Maybe his dad there. And that's just a beautiful moment in baseball. That's what it's
all about. Not retaliation for no reason.
This breakdown was brought to you by DraftKings. I thank DraftKings for sponsoring the breakdown.
Just as much as I thank all you guys for always watching them and supporting. I appreciate it.
Leave a comment. Share it if you like it. Subscribe. All of that stuff helps. Thank you, DraftKings.