technical details
  1. is_video => true
  2. is_chrome_page => null
  3. article_body => "<p>After getting hit seven times in the last 14 games against them, Cubs catcher Willson Contreras sent the Brewers a 438-foot response in the eighth inning Tuesday night.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>\u201cTonight, I sent a message,\u201d Contreras said postgame. \u201cI think they picked the wrong guy to throw at.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>Contreras crushed a go-ahead two-run home run off Brent Suter in the eighth inning Tuesday, giving the Cubs a 3-2 lead. He paired a bat flip that was as epic as the home run, and a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nbcsports.com\/chicago\/cubs\/willson-contreras-brewers-fans-it-feels-good-shut-them\">shush heard around Wisconsin.<\/a><\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>\"He almost ripped my hand off when he high fived me in the dugout,\" manager David Ross said of his backstop.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<drupal-url data-embed-button=\"url\" data-embed-url=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Cubs\/status\/1382154751312334849\" data-entity-label=\"Embed social\" data-timestamp=\"1618379693\" data-url-provider=\"Twitter\"><\/drupal-url>\r\n\r\n<p>That <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nbcsports.com\/chicago\/cubs\/cubs-observations-willson-contreras-gets-revenge-over-brewers\">3-2 score held<\/a> to snap the Cubs\u2019 three-game skid.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>Contreras\u2019 frustration has been mounting as him getting hit by pitches has become a regular occurrence against Milwaukee. This season alone, he\u2019s been hit in five of the clubs\u2019 seven meetings.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>\u201cI think I let all my frustration come out,\u201d Contreras said of the home run. \u201cWhenever you get hit a lot, you feel bottled with frustration.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>Contreras has been hit in three of five Cubs-Brewers games this season, including four innings prior to Tuesday\u2019s home run. In last week\u2019s series, it happened in consecutive games \u2014 first in the head in the series opener and in the left arm the following day.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>That second incident resulted in a brief benches and bullpen clearing fracas.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>\u201cI was trying to send a message last series at home and then I got fined $7,500 because I was trying to protect myself,\u201d Contreras said.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p><strong>MORE:&nbsp;<\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nbcsports.com\/chicago\/cubs\/cubs-willson-contreras-after-fine-mlb-must-take-care-batters\">Contreras after fine, HBP: MLB must \u2018take care of batters\u2019<\/a><\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>Contreras said he\u2019s confident the Brewers aren\u2019t intentionally throwing at him, in part because he\u2019s good friends with catcher Omar Narvaez.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>\u201cI told him, \u2018I know you guys aren't trying to hit me, but, bro, that\u2019s something that frustrates any player, and I'm trying to take care of myself,\u2019\u201d Contreras said.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>At the same time, Contreras has stressed concern for his health, citing former Cubs outfielder Adam Greenberg \u2014 who was hit in the head in 2005 on the first pitch he saw in the big leagues.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>Greenberg didn\u2019t play in the majors again until the Marlins reached out and offered him a one-day contract in 2012 to get one more plate appearance.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>Contreras was booed all game Tuesday, including in his ensuing plate appearance after Cubs reliever Ryan Tepera threw behind Brewers starter Brandon Woodruff\u2019s legs.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>\u201cThat caught me off guard,\u201d said Contreras, who suggested in his postgame interview on Marquee Network that retaliation against a position player would have made more sense.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>The boos got louder as the game went on, the loudest in the eighth inning. Contreras sent his message with the home run, rounding the bases with a finger over his lips, shushing the crowd.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>\u201cIt feels good to shut them up. When they boo me, I don't really care,\u201d he said. \u201cBut don't get sensitive when I do something like that.\"<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>The Cubs and Brewers meet 14 more times this season, starting with Wednesday\u2019s series finale.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>\u201cThere\u2019s a lot more games coming up,\u201d Contreras said. \u201cWho knows what\u2019s going to happen?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nbcsports.com\/chicago\/podcasts#CubsTalk\"><em><strong>Click here to subscribe to the Cubs Talk Podcast for free.<\/strong><\/em><\/a><\/p>\r\n\r\n<p><iframe height=\"230px\" src=\"https:\/\/art19.com\/shows\/194b557a-5b1a-41fa-9e3c-3a7b33a4c831\/embed?playlist_type=latest\" width=\"100%\"><\/iframe><\/p>\r\n\r\n<drupal-entity data-embed-button=\"app_promo_embed\" data-entity-embed-display=\"view_mode:block_content.full\" data-entity-type=\"block_content\" data-entity-uuid=\"84a634bd-85a1-4e39-9e2a-7d404e5646e3\" data-langcode=\"en\"><\/drupal-entity>\r\n"
  4. created => 1618379839
  5. changed => 1618411858
  6. status => true
  7. hero_image_credit => "USA TODAY"
  8. tags => null
  9. field_bean_single_col => null
  10. section => null
  11. orig_image => {"alt":"","title":"","width":"1280","height":"720","uri":"public:\/\/article\/hero\/Willson-Contreras-Chicago-Cubs-USATSI_15891468.jpg","timestamp":1618379839}
  12. image => {"alt":"","title":"","width":"1280","height":"720","uri":"public:\/\/archive\/assets_article\/chicago\/2021\/04\/14\/Willson-Contreras-Chicago-Cubs-USATSI_15891468.jpg","timestamp":1618379839}
  13. video_url => "https:\/\/www.nbcsports.com\/chicago\/video\/catcher-willson-contreras-8th-inning-homer-gives-cubs-win"
  14. is_mediaid => true
  15. mediaid => "wXk86iWIV91r"
  16. video_autoplay => null
  17. video_automute => null
  18. mpx_account_id => "BxmELC"
  19. player_url => "https:\/\/www.nbcsports.com\/vplayer\/p\/BxmELC\/chicago_main\/select\/media\/wXk86iWIV91r?form=html&autoPlay=true"
  20. chrome_data => null
  21. description => "Cubs catcher Willson Contreras sent the Brewers a 438-foot message in Tuesday's 3-2 win in Milwaukee."
  22. league => "MLB"
  23. league_id => "98"
  24. sport => "Baseball"
  25. sport_id => "5"
  26. image_credit => "USA TODAY"
  27. no_promo => false
  28. no_trending_in_body => false
  29. no_recirc => false
  30. no_trend => false
  31. short_title => "Contreras on big HR: Brewers \u2018picked wrong guy to throw at\u2019"
  32. sponsorship_type => "presented_by"
  33. type => "article"
  34. alias => "\/chicago\/cubs\/cubs-willson-contreras-brewers-picked-wrong-guy-throw"
  35. title => "Cubs\u2019 Willson Contreras: Brewers \u2018picked wrong guy to throw at\u2019"
  36. nid => "409121"
  37. author_0 => "Tim Stebbins"
  38. author_0_id => "6476"
  39. mps => {"author_0":"Tim Stebbins"}
  40. region => "chicago"
  41. region_id => "4"
  42. sponsor => null
  43. sponsor_id => null
  44. team_id => "75"
  45. team => "Cubs"
  46. published => 1618379461
  47. article_type => "short"
  48. meta => {"file":"\/mnt\/gfs\/rsnunited\/sites\/default\/files\/archive\/article\/chicago\/cubs\/cubs-willson-contreras-brewers-picked-wrong-guy-throw.json","assets":["public:\/\/archive\/assets_article\/chicago\/2021\/04\/14\/Willson-Contreras-Chicago-Cubs-USATSI_15891468.jpg"]}
Cubs

/ by Tim Stebbins
Cubs

After getting hit seven times in the last 14 games against them, Cubs catcher Willson Contreras sent the Brewers a 438-foot response in the eighth inning Tuesday night.

“Tonight, I sent a message,” Contreras said postgame. “I think they picked the wrong guy to throw at.”

Contreras crushed a go-ahead two-run home run off Brent Suter in the eighth inning Tuesday, giving the Cubs a 3-2 lead. He paired a bat flip that was as epic as the home run, and a shush heard around Wisconsin.

"He almost ripped my hand off when he high fived me in the dugout," manager David Ross said of his backstop.

That 3-2 score held to snap the Cubs’ three-game skid.

Contreras’ frustration has been mounting as him getting hit by pitches has become a regular occurrence against Milwaukee. This season alone, he’s been hit in five of the clubs’ seven meetings.

“I think I let all my frustration come out,” Contreras said of the home run. “Whenever you get hit a lot, you feel bottled with frustration.”

Contreras has been hit in three of five Cubs-Brewers games this season, including four innings prior to Tuesday’s home run. In last week’s series, it happened in consecutive games — first in the head in the series opener and in the left arm the following day.

That second incident resulted in a brief benches and bullpen clearing fracas.

 

“I was trying to send a message last series at home and then I got fined $7,500 because I was trying to protect myself,” Contreras said.

MORE: Contreras after fine, HBP: MLB must ‘take care of batters’

Contreras said he’s confident the Brewers aren’t intentionally throwing at him, in part because he’s good friends with catcher Omar Narvaez.

“I told him, ‘I know you guys aren't trying to hit me, but, bro, that’s something that frustrates any player, and I'm trying to take care of myself,’” Contreras said.

At the same time, Contreras has stressed concern for his health, citing former Cubs outfielder Adam Greenberg — who was hit in the head in 2005 on the first pitch he saw in the big leagues.

Greenberg didn’t play in the majors again until the Marlins reached out and offered him a one-day contract in 2012 to get one more plate appearance.

Contreras was booed all game Tuesday, including in his ensuing plate appearance after Cubs reliever Ryan Tepera threw behind Brewers starter Brandon Woodruff’s legs.

“That caught me off guard,” said Contreras, who suggested in his postgame interview on Marquee Network that retaliation against a position player would have made more sense.

The boos got louder as the game went on, the loudest in the eighth inning. Contreras sent his message with the home run, rounding the bases with a finger over his lips, shushing the crowd.

“It feels good to shut them up. When they boo me, I don't really care,” he said. “But don't get sensitive when I do something like that."

The Cubs and Brewers meet 14 more times this season, starting with Wednesday’s series finale.

“There’s a lot more games coming up,” Contreras said. “Who knows what’s going to happen?”

Click here to subscribe to the Cubs Talk Podcast for free.

Download
Download MyTeams Today!