Pirates and Brewers Brawl Over Carlos Gomez

Say what you will, but Milwaukee Brewers star Carlos Gomez is a talented guy. A fantastic baseball player, who hits for power, has speed to spare and can go get them in centerfield.

But Gomez also seems to be a lightning rod for trouble because he shows off.

In 2013, he set off a bench clearing situation with the Atlanta Braves on a home run when Braves catcher Brian McCann wouldn't let him cross the plate.

Sunday afternoon, his casual bat flip after hitting a ball off the wall in dead centerfield during a game with the Pittsburgh Pirates set off a wild scene that saw punches fly, Gomez get tossed around and Pirates outfielder Travis Snider get his hat knocked off by an attempted punch.

After the bat flip, Gomez eventually ran full speed before beating the throw to third with a headfirst slide. Pirates pitcher Gerrit Cole who went to back-up the throw began shouting at Gomez, who shouted back and the chaos ensued.

Gomez and Snider were ejected along with Milwaukee bench coach Jerry Narron. Nobody appears to have been injured and you can expect the fines to begin rolling in on Monday.

Brian McCann: Enforcer For The Love Of The Game

((HT: FS Brewers/MLB))

Carlos Gomez is not, apparently, Marlins pitcher Jose Fernandez when it comes to admiring his handiwork...


But Braves catcher Brian McCann will be more than happy to tell you when you break the code...

Gomez, Braves first baseman Freddie Freeman and Gerald Laird were ejected. The umpires said that the Gomez run counted even though he had never touched home plate, invoking Role 7.06(a), which says an "obstructed runner shall be awarded at least one base beyond the base he had last legally touched before the obstruction."

Gomez and Maholm have a history... On June 23 at Miller Park, a Maholm fastball hit Gomez in the left knee. Gomez thought Maholm had intentionally struck him.

When Gomez rounded third base, he pointed at his knee while yelling at Maholm... connecting the two incidents...

At least, in theory...

ICYMI: Carlos Gomez Robs Joey Votto Of A Home Run To End The Game, Reaction From Reds Mgr, Dusty Baker



Carlos Gomez

This was a great catch by the Brewers Carlos Gomez denying Cincinnati's Joey Votto a

2 run home run in the top of the ninth.

And here's Gomez after the game.




"Any time Votto hits a ball up in the air like that, you're not sure. The ball carries well here, as we know," Brewers manager Ron Roenicke. "Even when 'Gomey' got to the wall, I couldn't get a good feeling for it. I was hoping it wasn't too far."

Here's Red's manager Dusty Baker's reaction:




When Votto reached second base he wanted the umpire to confirm Gomez had the ball.  Gomez did.

"I thought off the bat it was going to be a non-catch," Votto said. "He went up and made pretty big play in the game. I just wanted to confirm that he had it."

"It was kind of a random way to end the game." Votto said.  "In all likelihood it was going to put us up. It would be a homer -- an actual homer over the fence. Then to have the center fielder take it away from you -- one I'm ironically going to play beside at the All-Star Game -- the whole thing is kind of a random occurrence.