Three days after needing to be separated during a verbal altercation in the dugout, Padres star infielders Fernando Tatis Jr. and Manny Machado said Tuesday that the dust-up is now water under the bridge.
The pair spoke to the media about the issue on Tuesday, insisting that the confrontation helped their relationship and that the pair are on good terms now.
"We handled it internally," Machado said, per MLB.com's AJ Cassavell. "We've got a team that's trying to compete and get to the World Series. We haven't been playing such great baseball, so emotions get involved, and it gets the better of us. Those are situations that we learn [from], as leaders, as a team, as an organization. And we just get better from that.”
Facing the Cardinals on Saturday, the two had to be separated after Tatis struck out in the fifth inning. It's not clear what sparked the incident, but Machado could be heard yelling, "It's not about you! It's not f---ing about you!"
The Padres entered the season with World Series expectations and got off to a hot start, but have seen their fortunes crater in the second half. They entered Tuesday's game against the Giants at 76–73 and four games out of the second wild-card spot after losing 24 of their last 34 games.
"It's part of baseball," Tatis said. "It's part of this game. It's part of what this game brings out, especially when good players are trying to win, and stuff is not going our way.
"At the end of the day, it's: 'Glad it happened.' I feel like that makes us stronger. You go inside, and you talk about it, and you analyze it, and you just come together."
