Philadelphia Phillies manager Gabe Kapler was not pleased to see Rhys Hoskins hit by a high pitch in Sunday's 5-1 victory over the visiting Atlanta Braves.
"It really pisses me off when balls go off Rhys Hoskins' chin," said Kapler, who called Hoskins the "heartbeat" of the Phillies. "Really bugs me."
Two pitches after Bryce Harper connected on a solo home run off Shane Carle in the seventh inning, the reliever drilled Hoskins on the left shoulder.
Plate umpire Rob Drake immediately ejected Carle. After the game, the pitcher left before media was allowed in the Braves' clubhouse.
Although it was the first time Hoskins had been hit by a pitch in the opening series of the year, it was the third time he had to scramble after a pitch inside.
"I hit the ground three times in three days. That's never fun," Hoskins said.
In May of last season, Hoskins fractured his jaw when he fouled a pitch off his face, and he said the incident was on his mind after the close call Sunday.
"I think especially after the episode I had last year, that's always stuff that is going to be in the back of my head," Hoskins said. "I'm not happy about it, to say the least."
Hoskins shouted at Carle while walking up the first-base line.
"Just called him a few names," the slugger said. "Up toward your head, it's scary, always scary. I don't know if there was an intent. Situation would say it wasn't given the (0-1) count, but you never know."
Braves manager Brian Snitker said Carle was not intentionally trying to hit Hoskins.
"If Bryce [Harper] hadn't hit the homer and the ball got away like it did, I'm sure he wouldn't have got ejected," Snitker said, as quoted by The Athletic. "He's not trying to hit the guy. My God, it's just not the situation where you do that. He lost the ball, and unfortunately it hit him. I hate that. Umpire had to do what he thought he had to do, but there's no way in hell that he's trying to send a message or anything like that. The ball just got away."
When asked whether he thought the Phillies' celebrations of Harper's home run might have led to the hit-by-pitch, Kapler said: "That would be speculative on my part. I'll say that I appreciate how enthusiastic our players are. I think, celebration is a part of the game. And deserved when guys are swinging the bats really well. And feeding off each other's energy. I support our ballclub and the way they've come out in these three games. On the field, off the field. And from the standpoint of celebrating one another."