Cincinnati Reds outfielder Tommy Pham called a collision between teammate Tyler Stephenson and San Diego Padres' Luke Voit "dirty," and implied retaliation was possible.
“I don’t like it. At all,” Pham said. “The way his hands hit him in the face — it was dirty. If Luke wants to settle it, I get down really well. Anything — muay thai, whatever. Like I said, I’ve got an owner here who will let me use his (boxing) facility. So f-ck ’em.”
Voit rounded the bases after a double from Jurickson Profar was hit into the corner of left field, and as Reds shortstop Kyle Farmer threw home, Voit collided with catcher Stephenson in front of the plate.
Stephenson's mask and helmet were knocked off in the collision, though he held on to the ball for the out.
A former catcher, Voit insisted that he attempted to avoid contact with Stephenson when sliding into home, and Padres manager Bob Melvin defended Voit, saying, "I think Luke was just trying to protect himself, putting his hands up."
"When I rewatched it on video, I thought Luke could’ve done a bitter job with avoiding the tag," said Pham, who played with Voit in St. Louis in 2017.
"I don't like it all, they can say what they want – everybody on that side, they know I get down."
The Padres beat the Reds 6-2. The two teams meet again at 4 p.m. Wednesday, completing the third of a three-game series in San Diego.
