Milwaukee Brewers manager Pat Murphy labeled Abner Uribe’s celebratory actions as “unacceptable” after his reliever made lewd gestures toward the St. Louis Cardinals’ dugout in the eighth inning on Tuesday.
Uribe recorded an inning-ending strikeout with two runners aboard before making three crotch chops while facing the visitors’ dugout. The Brewers went on to post a 6-0 win.
“I don’t know what got over him. I mean, he’s been an emotional guy, but that kind of thing, that’s just not how we do things,” Murphy said. “I was embarrassed by it. Why are we doing it? It’s a 6-0 game. What are we doing there?”
“I love the kid. Believe me, I love the kid,” Murphy continued. “There’s so much good in this kid. He’s been so great for us in so many ways, but that’s unacceptable. So, whatever’s going on, you can’t tolerate that. For his teammates, and for everything, it’s not going to be tolerated, that’s all there is to it.”
Uribe, 25, apologized through an interpreter, however he also pointed the finger at the Cardinals.
“Everyone here knows me and knows who I am, and knows I have a bit of a history of being emotional out there,” he said. “I think first I owe an apology to the Brewers. I owe an apology to my teammates, to my manager, all the bosses of the team. I understand that’s unacceptable, to go out there and react in a way like that.
“But at the same time, I don’t think it’s unprofessional for their manager to be making signs towards our dugout saying that he’s going to be hitting guys,” Uribe said. “There was an event that occurred during the practice today, too, and I don’t think that was right. So, I have my teammates’ back always.”
Uribe is 2-2 with five saves and a 4.19 ERA in 21 relief appearances this season.
