On Tuesday, we saw the beginnings of hate between the Phillies and the Marlins. There was Scott Olsen yelling at Chase Utley, and there was Utley and Cole Hamels telling us how many people hated Olsen.Wednesday night, act II, saw three Marlins get hit by pitches. And after Thursday night, the hate has been kicked up another notch, thanks to Dontrelle Willis and Jon Lieber.
In the first inning of Thursday's 85-minute rain-delayed game, Marlins catcher Miguel Olivo caught Abraham Nunez with a right to the jaw on the follow through of a throw to second base. Nunez swung and missed, and his momentum took him in front of the plate and in the path of Olivo's concussion-inducing haymaker.Usually, when an incident happens such as Olsen yelling at Utley, everyone expects something to happen the next game. Almost always, that next level of aggression never happens and everyone goes home disappointed. Well this time, not only did we get two straight games with tensions, we got three. And that makes this rivalry official. Will something else happen the next time these two rivals meet? Don't bet on it ... they'll have until August 7th to cool down for their next meeting.
In the second inning, Aaron Boone got hit by a pitch for the second straight game. Three batters later, Lieber inexplicably threw a pitch behind Willis that just missed his backside. "The guy hasn't hit anybody the whole year and he didn't hit anybody the rest of the game," Willis said. "I have to defend myself...I'm not going to sit down and back down from anything."
Willis returned the favor in the fourth, throwing a pitch well behind Lieber. After the inning ended, Willis began jawing at the Phillies dugout. Said Phillies catcher Rod Barajas: "There's no need for you to walk off the field and taunt the other dugout. It's something you don't do in this game and tempers are going to flare when that happens."
Both teams spilled onto the infield between home and third base, but it appeared the situation would defuse quickly. The more talking that went on, the closer the two groups got and some shoving ensued. Willis, Olsen and Mitre were among those who had to be restrained. Nobody was ejected and game resumed without further incident.
Previously on the Fanhouse:
Who hates Scott Olsen? Everyone hates Scott Olsen.
