The Cardinals and Cubs have long been heated rivals but what happened in the first inning of Thursday night’s game was something they probably have never seen in their intense history—a pitcher getting ejected after throwing at a hitter for such a lame reason.
In case you missed it, Cubs left fielder Ian Happ hit Cardinals catcher Willson Contreras in the head with his bat by accident on his backswing. Contreras had to leave the game after that and got a hug from Happ on his way out.
Cardinals pitcher Miles Mikolas apparently wasn’t happy about what happened to his catcher and he proceeded to throw at Happ. His first pitch was high and inside but his next one beaned Happ.
Miles Mikolas's ejection after throwing at Happ for hitting Contreras on his backswing. pic.twitter.com/zGfmpoH8CD
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) July 28, 2023
Throwing at Happ there is pretty silly because there’s no way he meant to hit Contreras with his bat. Also, Mikolas needing two pitches to hit him made the whole thing even more ridiculous. He was quickly tossed from the game.
MLB fans ripped Mikolas:
End this Neanderthal behavior. Somehow the announcers are amazed Mikolas is ejected after throwing at Happ TWICE
— Jake Ξ (@TheDustmite) July 28, 2023
Seriously, this needs to be out of baseball. The only message you're sending is that you're an idiot https://t.co/MFYoVExAoD
A Cardinals pitcher who can’t even bean a guy on his first try is the most 2023 Cardinals thing ever https://t.co/WomBfbvjst
— Away Games: Chicago Cubs Podcast (@AwayGamesPod) July 28, 2023
It's obvious the backswing wasn't intentional but Miles Mikolas is a punk and took it upon himself to try and hurt Ian Happ. He got what he deserved. https://t.co/iWKZ0xVLI4
— Jeffrey Kahn (@JeffEKahn) July 28, 2023
If it takes you multiple attempts to drill a guy they should add a game to your suspension https://t.co/3EVg8dKD45
— Michael Baumann (@MichaelBaumann) July 28, 2023
I got no issues with this. What the hell is Mikolas doing? Does he actually think hitting the catcher on the backswing was actually intentional?? Proceeds to throw directly at him for the next 2 pitches. Hard to issue “warnings” when it’s clearly intentional. What a moron https://t.co/gd5hPq0HGH
— DJ Saam (@DJ_SAAM) July 28, 2023
Dudes year been so trash he can’t hit a batter the first try https://t.co/oSnCsfDnKf
— Mikey Mike 🏁🏁 (@MetsMikey) July 28, 2023
At least us Cubs and Brewers fans can bond over the stupidity of the St. Louis Cardinals https://t.co/N5LcXhZS0I
— Austin Harper (@theausharper) July 28, 2023
This may be the most pointless beaning in recent baseball memory? There was no reason to ‘get even’ after Happ’s accidental whack of Willson. They were teammates.
— M. Siciliano (@MikeSiciliano7) July 28, 2023
So either a wildly improbable coincidence with Mikolas’ two pitches inside, or he’s dumb & felt need to retaliate. https://t.co/WGkYvukCPn
