Ryan O’Hearn’s frustration with the Brewers started with the obvious: three hit-by-pitches in three games will wear on anybody. What he couldn’t get past was what happened after the third one.
During the Pittsburgh Pirates’ 14-5 win over Milwaukee on Sunday at PNC Park, O’Hearn was plunked in the third inning by Robert Gasser, marking the third straight game he had been hit. He responded by holding up three fingers toward home-plate umpire Alfonso Marquez and the Brewers’ dugout, a clear signal of how the series had gone for him.
He didn’t turn it into a fight. He didn’t charge the mound.
He didn’t accuse Gasser of doing it on purpose. He simply showed his frustration and took first base.
The issue, O’Hearn said afterward, was that Brewers manager Pat Murphy then made things worse.
“I don’t think (Gasser) did it on purpose, just tired of getting hit three games in a row,” O’Hearn said after the game (via José Negron of DK Pittsburgh Sports). “I let out my frustration, went to first base and it was their manager, actually, who followed me down to their end of the dugout to call me names.”
O’Hearn said the moment had been under control until Murphy stepped in.
“Everything was totally fine and handled fine, until I got to first base and their manager followed me down to first base to call me names, which is crazy because I had a lot of respect for that guy,” O’Hearn said. “I’ve never seen it before.”
The hit-by-pitch came after O’Hearn had already been hit by Brandon Sproat and Shane Drohan in the previous two games, so his irritation was easy to understand. But his account makes clear that he wasn’t the one pushing the situation toward something bigger.
Milwaukee’s dugout apparently had a different reaction. O’Hearn said Murphy crossed the line by following him and hurling insults, turning what had been a brief expression of frustration into something more personal.
The Pirates answered in the loudest way possible anyway, blasting Brewers pitching for 14 runs and finishing off a sweep of the first-place club. O’Hearn didn’t need to do anything more than show how he felt. Pittsburgh’s bats handled the rest.
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