Ray Searage: Pitchers Have To Protect Their Teammates
PITTSBURGH (93-7 The Fan) – Pittsburgh Pirates pitching coach Ray Searage joined Chris Mack, Josh Miller and Jim Colony on "The Fan Morning Show" Thursday to talk about his staff as the Bucs prepare to wrap up their series in Detroit.
During the interview, Searage was asked about Gerrit Cole hitting the Tigers' Victor Martinez with a pitch during Tuesday's game. Martinez and others assumed it was retaliation for Justin Verlander hitting Starling Marte with a pitch earlier in the inning.
"You have to protect your teammates," Searage said. "I'm not saying that Cole was told to do that or anything. It's just that we've got to send a message to people that if you're going to hit one of our guys, we're going to protect our teammates… there is a point in time where you have to say enough is enough."
The Pirates have been getting hit with a lot of pitches this season, which has frustrated Andrew McCutchen, among others. Searage said that the Pirates aren't out to hurt guys on other teams to make things even - they're just looking to send a message.
"We're not trying to go hitting people," Searage said. "We're just trying to send messages like, hey, we're going to come inside - especially if you get low-bridged like McCutchen, we're going to have to low-bridge you guys, because we don't like that."
Searage said that pitchers will go the extra mile in these situations in order to defend their comrades.
"These are our players, our teammates," Searage said. "They have a special sense of responsibility in that."
The interview can be heard here: