The rivalry between the Chicago Cubs and St. Louis Cardinals already has enough drama, but less than 10 minutes into Thursday night’s Game 1 of a four-game series at Busch Stadium, things really escalated.
With two outs in the top of the first inning, Chicago Cubs batter Ian Happ hit St. Louis Cardinals catcher Willson Contreras in the backswing. Contreras’ head was bleeding and he exited the game.
One pitch later, Cardinals starting pitcher Miles Mikolas threw an up-and-in pitch that just missed hitting Happ. And on the second pitch, Mikolas didn’t miss Happ. If the first pitch didn’t make it obvious enough, the second pitch definitely made it clear that Mikolas was intentionally throwing at Happ.
After the hit-by-pitch, the umpiring crew met on the field and chose to eject Mikolas.
The Bally Sports Midwest Cardinals broadcast — featuring Chip Caray on play-by-play and Brad Thompson on color commentary — certainly hated the decision.
Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol was also ejected after he came out to defend Mikolas.
St. Louis reliever Dakota Hudson entered the game and essentially served as a new starting pitcher. The Cubs went on to score three runs after the Happ hit-by-pitch in the first inning, and Hudson allowed five earned runs over 4 1/3 innings pitched.
Here’s a peek at how the baseball world reacted to the first-inning drama:
I’d be legitimately curious to ask @bthompson48 about this…
Happ’s contact on the swing w/ Contreras was clearly accidental, right? He gave him a hug on his way out of the game.
Mikolas then buzzed the tower, missed, & then hit him. Clearly intentional 2x!
What am I missing? https://t.co/AnpibLQKam
— Ben Heisler (@bennyheis) July 28, 2023
It is because those umpires had a feel for the game that Mikolas was ejected. You get one chance to send a message. The first message missed. That’s on you. If you keep trying, you deserve to be run. https://t.co/vGdea2n7uZ
— Matt Burnell (@mdburnell) July 28, 2023
Lmao these announcers really think you can throw at someone 2 pitches in a row and not get ejected? The absolute correct (and easy) decision from the umpires. https://t.co/5Qjo6TC11l
— Ben Ross (@BenRossTweets) July 28, 2023
Happ and Contreras were Cubs teammates from 2017-22, before Contreras signed with the Cardinals over the offseason.