Reds' Terry Francona calls out White Sox after 'blatant' Sal Stewart hit by pitch

The Cincinnati Reds and Chicago White Sox finished up a somewhat contentious three-game series during a rain-soaked affair at Rate Field on Thursday afternoon. Things got a little heated during the third inning after Sal Stewart was struck in the helmet by a 92 mph fastball.

White Sox starter Davis Martin came up and in on back-to-back pitches — the second one struck the C-flap of Stewart's batting helmet. The Reds' prized rookie did not take kindly to the hit-by-pitch and had some choice words for the Chicago hurler.

The benches empties, but no physical altercation took place. Eventually cooler heads prevailed and the two teams returned to their respective dugouts. Martin, however, was ejected from the game.

Stewart downplayed the whole incident during postgame interviews, but Reds manager Terry Francona made sure to let the media know his thoughts on the matter. The veteran skipper — who's seen this type of thing a time or two during his big-league tenure — called Davis' actions "blatant".

Reds manager Terry Francona didn't mince words after Sal Stewart hit-by-pitch

"I thought that was extremely blatant," Francona said after the game. "You can't throw two balls like that head-high. You'll kill somebody. I thought that was terrible."

Stewart homered off Davis in his first at-bat. The rookie admired his titanic blast for an extra second or two, and that might've been what triggered Davis to throw inside during Stewart's next AB. Stewart's first inning dinger came off the bat at over 110 mph and sailed 419 feet.

Davis' actions — intentional or not — are no longer tolerated in today's game. I'm sure the White Sox coaches and players will claim that Davis didn't hit Stewart on purpose, but that's not what it looked like to most observers. As a popular Reds' fan account on X correctly pointed out, those two fastballs were the only ones Davis missed high all game. So feel free to come to your own conclusions.

Francona was also asked about Stewart's toughness after the game. The rookie came back up to the plate the next time through the batting order and delivered his team-leading 89th RBI of the season.

"I don't think he's scared, if that's what you mean," Francona said. "I never do, but I mean, it's no fun having somebody throw 98 (mph) at your head. But he's not going to back down."

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