Things got a little heated Thursday in the desert when former Braves rightfielder Jason Heyward was accused by San Francisco Giants players of conspiring with teammate Dexter Fowler of tipping pitches.
In the top of the fourth inning Giants ace Madison Bumgarner struck out Heyward, then took exception to an exchange between Heyward (at the plate) and Fowler (on second base).
This is how Heyward explained his actions to the Chicago Tribune:
"Madison made a good pitch on me, a front door cutter," Heyward said. "I wasn't sure if it was a strike or not at the time. I was looking out at second base and I could see Dexter and (said), 'what do you got, ball or strike?' I thought it might have been around the plate. But either way, I'm out. Bottom line.
"Next thing you know, I see (catcher) Buster Posey coming out of my peripheral saying, 'hey, hey.' I was like, 'what's going on?' No. Then I saw Madison, who said, 'you looking at me?'
"I wasn't looking out at anybody. I wasn't trying to show anyone up. I played against those two guys since 2008 in the minor leagues. It's always a battle. It's always fun. First class guys who play the game the right way. I try to do the same.
"That's was it. I think it was a misunderstanding."
Fowler, who played high school baseball at Milton High School in Alpharetta, and Heyward may have gotten their signs mixed up, too.
Fowler was apparently too discreet in his response, because Heyward - from Henry County - claims he never caught his sign.
