Tampa Bay Rays outfielder Brett Phillips and Baltimore Orioles pitcher Jorge Lopez go way back. They spent time together in Milwaukee. They were traded to Kansas City together.
They’re friends.
And during Saturday’s game between the Rays and Orioles, the two got a chance to face each other. Just nobody seemed to verse home plate umpire Nick Mahrley on this long-spanning friendship because for a second, he thought he was going to have to break up a brawl.
In Phillips’ fourth-inning at-bat, he took an 0-1, 95 mph fastball to the back. Phillips immediately had words for Lopez and deked that he was going to charge the mound. Mahrley just couldn’t see that Phillips was laughing the whole time.
Ump was shook 😂
(via @Cut4) pic.twitter.com/SwFHNOXZQ7
— B/R Walk-Off (@BRWalkoff) June 12, 2021
When Mahrley tried to intervene, Phillips had to explain that he’s friends with Lopez. He was just teasing a former teammate.
After the game, Phillips explained what he was thinking with the joke. He said via MLB.com:
“He was one of my favorite teammates. Obviously, he did not do that on purpose, and when I got hit, I was like, ‘You know what, I’m gonna have a little fun with this.’ So I immediately turned around. I was like, ‘You want to fight with me?’ And I said it with a smile on my face, but the umpire and the catcher couldn’t see I was laughing, so I was like, ‘No, no, no, no, no, no!’ I was like, ‘No, I’m just messing, this is my boy, this is my boy!’”
Mahrley will just have to look for the smile next time.
