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St. Louis Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol said he warned the Milwaukee Brewers not to relay signs from the dugout during Tuesday night’s game, a situation that came to a head when Milwaukee reliever Abner Uribe gestured to the St. Louis dugout with three WWE-style crotch chops after an inning-ending strikeout in the eighth.
Uribe, speaking through an interpreter, said after the game that he believed Marmol made signs that led him to believe they were intended to direct Cardinals pitchers to hit Brewers hitters with pitches, particularly outfielder Christian Yelich and catcher William Contreras.
Speaking to reporters ahead of Wednesday afternoon’s match between the teams, Marmol initially said he had no reaction to Uribe’s accusations.
“I prefer not to exaggerate anything,” Marmol said. “I think it already has, to be completely honest with you.”
When asked further on the subject, he replied.
“I have no problem telling you the whole story, but I just think like everything else these days, it’s blowing up. It’s like an everyday occurrence,” Marmol said. “We had the impression [the Brewers] were quite demonstrative as to the transmission of signs coming from the shelter.”
Marmol said that’s when he spoke and waved to the Brewers dugout.
“I looked and said, ‘Hey, you have to do this, be smart, you’re going to hurt someone,'” Marmol said, pointing to his ribs. “Like, ‘What are we trying to do here?’ That was it.”
Marmol said there was also an incident involving an unnamed Brewers coach before the game regarding the signal relay issue. That same manager and Marmol spoke after the game, according to Marmol, who said he had no discussions with Brewers manager Pat Murphy, who condemned Uribe’s antics as “unacceptable.”
Asked if the matter was settled, Marmol said: “I have no reason to think that it isn’t. Usually you just don’t get that type of demonstrative reaction that prompts further questions. That’s just the reality. But we have that kind of interaction on a daily basis throughout the league.”
Yelich, speaking Wednesday at the Brewers clubhouse, called Uribe’s gesture “a little over the top.”
“Obviously, I don’t think celebrating the strikeout is something we need to do,” Yelich said. “He’s a guy who always supports his teammates. I appreciate his perspective, but I think there’s a different way to handle this situation, and he knows that.”
Yelich also said that “some things happened during the series that I’m not really sure why,” but declined to elaborate.
Yelich said the Brewers didn’t want it to distract from their performance on the field. Milwaukee won the first two games of the series.
“We’ve all resolved this, and we’re going to move on and make sure it doesn’t become a big distraction,” he said.
Associated Press reporting.
