Cardinals at Brewers Wednesday: Will Marmol Order Retaliation After Uribe’s Crotch-Chop?

Abner Uribe crotch-chopped the Cardinals dugout in the eighth inning of a 6-0 game on Tuesday. His own manager called it “unacceptable.” His own manager said he was “embarrassed” and that he “wouldn’t be surprised if MLB did something.” Uribe apologized to the Brewers, his coaches, the front office, the fans. He did not apologize to the Cardinals. He instead accused Oli Marmol of signaling from the dugout that William Contreras and Christian Yelich would be hit. They were not.

Marmol, asked about all of it postgame, said he saw Pat Murphy speaking with Uribe in the dugout and decided the Brewers were “handling it on their side.” That was the entirety of his public response. No raised voice. No defense of his players. No leaked threat. The Cardinals have lost six of their last eight games. The actual fire came from Iván Herrera, who told the press a 2-0 sinker buzzed his head and that Uribe should have come find him on second base instead of celebrating at a dugout.

So here is where the Cardinals are Wednesday afternoon: they cannot send a message in the first inning. Not after Marmol already publicly punted. Not with Uribe’s accusation about pregame signals still hanging in the air. To plunk the leadoff hitter at 1:10 PM ET would be to admit — on camera, in the box score — that Uribe was telling the truth about the dugout signs. Dustin May will throw clean baseball in the first.

But Dustin May does not pitch the seventh. Ryne Stanek does. Ryne Stanek throws 100. Ryne Stanek does not need a reason. Stanek with two outs and nobody on in a 4-2 game looks an awful lot like a guy who got crossed up on a sinker. Plausible deniability. Lower leverage to the season, higher leverage to the message. The Cardinals can’t send one in the first. They can absolutely send one in the seventh.

You are home Wednesday. Kids are out for Eid al-Adha. The Mets are not playing until tonight. The Yankees lost last night. The Tigers have lost seven in a row. Cubs are a laughing stock. Afternoon NL Central baseball on a Wednesday in May with two rivals carrying actual grievances into a series finale is the rarest commodity the regular season offers. Frelick leads off. Chourio is +850 to walk or be hit. Yelich and Contreras come up in the second.

Don’t watch the first hitter. Watch the whole game.

— JO’F