After the Diamondbacks defeated the Nationals 7–2 on Saturday night in Arizona, D-Backs starting pitcher Madison Bumgarner held court with the media in the locker room to discuss his strong outing.
Bumgarner had his best start of the season, as he went 8.0 innings allowing two earned runs on four hits while striking out nine.
But it was not his strong outing that garnered news on Saturday night, it was his pointed comments at Nationals outfielder Victor Robles, who took time admiring a towering home run off Bumgarner in the eighth with the game well in hand for the Diamondbacks.
Robles’s 413-foot home run to left field made it a 7–2 game, but he trotted around the bases like his team was on the right end of the scoreboard.
“Guy’s a clown,” Bumgarner said after the game.
“Like it’s 7–1, you hit your third homer of the year and you act like Barry Bonds breaking the record. Clean it up. I don’t care about giving up the run. Hell, we won 7–2, 8–2, whatever it was. It’s frustrating. I’m the old grumpy guy, I know, but that type of stuff, that didn’t use to happen. That’s ridiculous.”
Robles responded to Bumgarner’s comments after the game through his interpreter, Octavio Martinez.
“When he’s pitching well, he’s able to celebrate and do what he likes to do,” Robles said.
“It seems like he calls everybody a clown that has a big hit or home run against him. If he doesn’t want anybody hitting a home run against him … then keep striking people out or making better pitches where he doesn’t have to worry about that.”
While Robles’s comments on Saturday night seemed to end the mini-feud, Robles was spotted on Sunday afternoon donning a clown nose to troll Bumgarner.
The spat between Robles and Bumgarner is the most notable part of the matchup between the two teams this weekend. Entering Sunday, both the Nationals (31–65) and the Diamondbacks (42–52), are well clear of a playoff spot in the National League. Barring a heroic second-half surge by the D-Backs, it’s likely that both teams will once again miss out on the postseason in 2022.
