Smith, who finished the 2-1 loss against the Phillies 1-for-4 to drop his batting average to .206, took exception to Alvarado’s intensity and yelling after being struck out. Smith yelled back and the two players sparked an intense war of words.
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The outfielder then called out the reliever while talking to reporters.
“I don’t mind people pimping strikeouts and pimping stuff on the field. I’ve never been a player like that, but I don’t mind it; I love it,” Smith said, via ESPN. “But him pointing at me, coming after me, stuff like that — I’m a grown-ass man. Come meet me then if you really got a problem, and we can really handle it.
“That’s how I look at that issue. He waited for his team to grab him and stuff. But I’m right there. He can meet me in the tunnel tomorrow if he really wants to get after it.”
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According to the Philadelphia Inquirer, the tension between the two players started earlier in April after Alvarado hit Michael Conforto with a pitch. Smith took objection to that.
“I don’t think we forget those types of things,” Phillies first baseman Rhys Hopkins, said via the Inquirer. “If guys come at us, that’s stuff that we don’t forget. I don’t expect there to be any carryover into tomorrow other than the fact that it’s the Phillies and the Mets, and that’s what it is.”
The Phillies ended the month of April in first place in the National League East while the Mets finished the month in fourth place but only about a game back of the division leaders.
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