Watch: Blue Jays' Chapman upset at manager for pitching to Ohtani
Toronto Blue Jays third baseman Matt Chapman didn't appear to be too thrilled with manager John Schneider after Los Angeles Angels superstar Shohei Ohtani hit the first pitch he saw for a homer in Friday's game.
A camera caught Chapman having a testy conversation with Schneider in the dugout before taking his frustrations out on the baseball with a long homer in the second inning:
Matt Chapman channels his inner Josh Donaldson: pic.twitter.com/1UHjpjBMds
— TrueRGM (@TrueRGM) July 28, 2023
"It comes from a good place. You know, I'm competitive and I just want to win baseball games," Chapman said after Toronto's 4-1 victory, according to Mitch Bannon of Sports Illustrated. "So, it's nothing negative or anything like that. Just sometimes I get fired up."
Schneider also downplayed the incident.
"It was manager and player talking about what unfolded. Let's leave it at that," Schneider said, according to Rob Longley of the Toronto Sun.
The Angels now sit four games behind the Blue Jays for the final wild-card spot in the AL.