Brady Singer sparks Reds' retaliation questions after Giants plunking

Grab your popcorn, Reds fans. There may be some fireworks about to explode during Wednesday afternoon's series finale between the Cincinnati Reds and San Francisco Giants.

A lot of Reds fans may have missed Tuesday's game against Giants — either because you go to bed at a reasonable hour or have already turned your attention to the Cincinnati Bengals upcoming season — but Brady Singer hit two the first three batters he faced on Tuesday night in San Francisco.

Singer came inside on Giants outfielder Drew Gilbert with the first pitch of the game, and barely missed him. The Reds' righty didn't miss twice, however, and plunked Gilbert with a 90 mph sinker on the very next pitch. Two batters later, Singer came up and in and the ball struck San Francisco outfielder Jung Hoo Lee.

Those two hit batsman may have been directly connected to the Reds and Giants' brew-ha-ha that erupted on the field when the two clubs played each other at Great American Ball Park in mid-April.

If you'll remember, there was a tense exchange during an at-bat featuring Spencer Steer and JT Brubaker. The Giants' hurler didn't appreciate Steer being granted a late-timeout, and made his frustrations known. Brubaker then stalled before throwing the next pitch, Steer tossed some colorful language the pitcher's way, and then proceeded to lace a single into the outfield.

The next day, Landon Roupp drilled Steer in the ribs with a 92 mph heater. As the game moved along, the beef between the two teams continued. Reds reliever Connor Phillips was ejected after hitting Giants shortstop Willy Adames, and a shouting match took place after Erick Miller struck out Sal Stewart for the final out of the game.

Bad blood could result in benches clearing between Reds and Giants

The first pitch of today's series finale between the Reds and Giants is slated for 3:45 p.m. ET, and if the umpires don't warn both benches ahead of time, it wouldn't be shocking to see Elly De La Cruz or Sal Stewart wear on during the first inning. Roupp will be back on the mound for the Giants, and with both teams clearly out of the playoff hunt, today's game could be more about pride than the results.

If Stewart is one who's targeted, that might just clear the benches. The Reds' rookie has been hit a few times over the last few weeks, and on one such occasion, it resulted in the opposing pitcher being thrown out of the game.

It's never easy to judge intent, but if any batters are hit by a pitch today, the umpires may have to assume the worst. If they don't things could get quite lively in San Fran this afternoon.

Add us as a preferred source on Google

Follow