Nick Piecoro

azcentral sports

PITTSBURGH – Emotions ran high after a pair of Diamondbacks hitters were struck on the head by pitches from Pittsburgh Pirates reliever Arquimedes Caminero on Tuesday night, with Chief Baseball Officer Tony La Russa going into a Pirates broadcast booth to dispute on-air comments during the game.

The finger pointing carried over to Wednesday, with Diamondbacks manager Chip Hale blaming not Caminero but the Pirates coaching staff for allowing Caminero to throw inside when he can’t control it.

The Diamondbacks’ Jean Segura and Nick Ahmed were hit in consecutive innings by Caminero. Segura took a 96 mph fastball off the left side of the helmet. Ahmed was clipped on the chin by an 89 mph splitter.

YOUR TAKE: La Russa wrong to enter Pirates' broadcast booth?

OTHER SIDE: Pirates announcer responds to Tony La Russa

HEAT INDEX: How Diamondbacks vs. Pirates hit-by-pitch feud began

REACTION: Tony La Russa goes into Pirates broadcast booth

Both players appear to have avoided serious injury. Hale said Segura had concussion symptoms on Tuesday night but that he passed concussion tests on Wednesday. Hale planned to give Segura Wednesday off. Ahmed was back in the lineup.

La Russa acknowledged he went into a broadcast booth during Tuesday night’s game after he “heard some stuff on the air” that he considered inaccurate about his history with retaliatory pitches during his managerial days.

YOUR REACTION: Was it OK for La Russa to go into Pirates broadcast booth?

“I never have stood for inaccuracies,” La Russa said, “so I corrected the inaccuracies.

“It’s about taking responsibility. If you’re going to speak untruths then you’re going to get challenged and you should be responsible for what you say. I am. I reacted.”

MORE REACTION: Segura, Ahmed on getting hit in head

La Russa said that during his years as a manager his pitchers never hit a batter first because that batter was swinging the bat well against them. He also said a lack of intent doesn’t take a pitcher off the hook for a hit by pitch.

“A lot of guys who are pitching in don’t have the ability at this point to command it and it becomes very dangerous,” La Russa said. “The reasoning you get from the other side is they didn’t mean to do it intentionally. If you don’t have command, then that’s intentionally careless.”

The tensions between the teams date back to August 2014, when stars Paul Goldschmidt and Andrew McCutchen were at the center of a beanball war that left Goldschmidt with a season-ending hand injury.

GET THE APP: Diamondbacks XTRA iOS | Android

The Pirates are known for throwing inside – including up and in – as much as any team in baseball. La Russa has taken issue with their pitching philosophy in the past, both when he was managing the St. Louis Cardinals and in his current role.

When speaking with reporters during his pregame session Wednesday, Hale seemed mostly to absolve the hard-throwing-but-erratic Caminero. He instead seemed to direct his complaints toward Pirates manager Clint Hurdle and his staff.

“I don’t think the kid meant to do it,” Hale said. “When you put a guy out there that doesn’t have control in that area and you’re trying to pitch in, it’s not something that we can have here. The guy doesn’t have the ability to pitch in certain quadrants of the zone, we don’t do it. It’s almost the fault more of the coaching and the managing than it is the player at that point.”

MORE:Hale's concern with relievers 'is rising'

A night earlier, Hale suggested that Caminero doesn’t belong in the major leagues if he can’t command his pitches. Hurdle said he didn’t agree with Hale but understood his perspective. He also noted that the Pirates still have a player in the hospital following a hit by pitch, a reference to Ryan Vogelsong, who was hit in the face on Monday afternoon.

“It was an unfortunate situation,” Hurdle said. “Our first concern is hoping those guys aren’t hurt bad. Second concern is I’ve got to help a pitcher work through it who we know it wasn’t his intent to hurt people. Chip is more than entitled to his opinion; I don’t necessarily agree with it. …

“Men got hurt. Two balls got away in tough spots. I get it. I get Chip’s comments. I can understand his comments.”

Hale’s comments on Wednesday were made after Hurdle spoke to reporters.

Reach Piecoro at (602) 444-8680 or nick.piecoro@arizonarepublic.com. Follow him on Twitter @nickpiecoro.

Thursday’s game

Diamondbacks at Pirates

When: 9:35 a.m.

Where: PNC Park, Pittsburgh.

Pitchers: Diamondbacks LHP Patrick Corbin (2-3, 3.99) vs. Pirates RHP Gerrit Cole (5-3, 2.79).

TV/Radio: FSAZ/KTAR-AM (620), KSUN-AM (1400).

Corbin has been sharp in his past three outings, posting a 2.29 ERA in 19 2/3 innings. … He gave up two runs in 6 1/3 innings in a win over the Cardinals in St. Louis. … He gave up five runs (four earned) against the Pirates at Chase Field earlier this season. … Cole is coming off an unusual one-walk, zero-strikeout performance in which he gave up just one run in seven innings. … Like Corbin, he has been effective in his past three starts, with a 1.29 ERA in 21 innings. … Cole has faced the Diamondbacks three times in his career, posting a 3.10 ERA with 17 strikeouts in 20 1/3 innings.

Coming up

Friday: At Chase Field, 6:40 p.m., Diamondbacks LHP Robbie Ray (0-2, 3.34) vs. Padres LHP Christian Friedrich (0-1, 2.89).

Saturday: At Chase Field, 7:10 p.m., Diamondbacks RHP Zack Greinke (5-3, 4.59) vs. Padres RHP Cesar Vargas (0-2, 3.34).

Sunday: At Chase Field, 1:10 p.m., Diamondbacks RHP Shelby Miller (1-6, 7.09) vs. Padres LHP Drew Pomeranz (4-4, 1.70).