In Sunday's game against the Chicago Cubs, hard-throwing Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Aroldis Chapman entered the game in extra innings. After throwing 25 pitches, he received a mound visit from manager Derek Shelton for a peculiar reason.
Shelton came with a nail cutter and upon his arrival, a live broadcast showed him cutting Chapman's fingernails. It's not clear, though, if any previous play hurt Chapman's nail.
This led to Chapman being taken out of the game with an apparent injury as he was 3-0 against Nick Madrigal with runners on first and second and one out remaining.
With things tied two apiece entering the 10th, Shelton brought Chapman to the mound. Cody Bellinger, the 2023 NL Comeback Player of the Year, hit on the left side, helping automatic runner Seiya Suzuki reach home and himself be caught in the rundown between first and second base for the final out of the inning.
Patrick Wisdom increased the cushion for the Cubs as he crushed a dinger 412 feet into center field. After going down 3-0 against Madrigal, Shelton brought in Kyle Nicolas to replace Chapman on the mound. He walked Madrigal and then Mike Tauchman scored on a passed ball. He got the final out to end the top of the tenth, with the Cubs leading 5-2.
Connor Joe recorded a two-run shot to cut the lead to 5-3 in the bottom tenth for the Pirates. Adbert Alzolay walked Jack Suwinski but retired the next three batters for his fourth save, giving the Cubs their 24th win of the season.
Heated altercation with home plate umpire led Aroldis Chapman to a two-game suspension
Aroldis Chapman was pitching in the bottom of the eighth inning against the New York Mets at Citi Field on April 15. The Mets' Harrison Bader scored a double that proved to be a game-winning hit.
However, what followed was a heated altercation between Chapman and home plate umpire Edwin Moscoso. The left-handed flamethrower certainly didn't like the way Moscoso was calling balls and strikes.
Moscoso tossed Chapman out of the game, and that's when things heated up. Chapman confronted Moscoso, and the two exchanged words before the southpaw retreated to the dugout.
After reviewing the incident, the MLB announced a two-game suspension for the Pirates reliever after the heated back and forth with the home plate umpire.