CHICAGO _ Willson Contreras Tuesday doubled down on his stance that Braves catcher Tyler Flowers should have butted out of his conversation with an umpire Monday, and Cubs teammate Albert Almora Jr. added that he was ready to back his catcher "no matter what."
When Contreras punctuated the clash with a solo blast to right field, Almora knew how heated Contreras was based on his facial expression and the speed of his home run trot.
Contreras normally strolls around the bases, Almora told WSCR-AM 670's Laurence Holmes on Tuesday, but "he was in a full-out sprint, and I'm like, 'Oh boy, this is about to go down.'
"You knew because you could tell on his face," Almora said. "He was sprinting around second like it was a double or triple. He just hit an opposite-field homer and as soon as he hit it, he turned around and said something (to Flowers). I'm like, 'Man, it's going down right now.' "
The benches cleared, but there was no brawl.
Cubs right fielder Jason Heyward grabbed Contreras by the collar to keep him from escalating the argument with Flowers and Braves pitcher Julio Teheran. Contreras said Heyward told him, 'Hey, you can't get thrown out of the game. We need you.' "
Manager Joe Maddon told him to "keep your focus; keep your composure," Contreras said.
It all stemmed from an encounter during the second inning of the Cubs' 8-3 win, when Contreras, during his at-bat, turned to home plate umpire John Tumpane to complain about some of his strike calls.
"(Tumpane) called a low pitch on Kyle Schwarber that wasn't even close to the strike zone and that was my complaint. All of sudden (Flowers) got into the conversation, which irritates me," he said.
Contreras took his annoyance out on Teheran's 1-2 pitch, which he deposited into the right-field basket.
"I'm glad that I kept my focus on my at-bat. I'm glad that I was able to put the barrel on the ball," Contreras told WSCR. "When I saw the ball go out of the yard, I said, 'OK, I'm going to tell him to do his job, I'll do mine.' "
Rounding the bases "felt so good," but Contreras admitted he was just as angry as he was joyous.
"You're happy but still (ticked off) because of the conversation that just happened. That set the tone for the game."
