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LOS ANGELES – Already in the spotlight in October for an assortment of reasons, Manny Machado undoubtedly will receive extra attention from the Boston Red Sox on Friday night if he reaches second base in Game 3 of the World Series.
That's because of the Sox say they caught him stealing and relaying signs from second base to hitters in the fourth inning of Game 2 Wednesday night in Boston, a 4-2 Red Sox victory.
"I wish I would have gone out there before [Yasiel] Puig at-bat, before he came up in that situation, because I saw the whole thing, "Dana LeVangie, Boston's pitching coach, told B / R late Wednesday night, referring to Puig's RBI single in the fourth that lifted Los Angeles to brief 2-1 lead.
David Freese and Machado led the fight against Boston starter David Price, and then Chris Taylor walked, moving the runners up. That's when Machado reached second.
From there, after Kemp drove in Freese from third with a sacrifice by swinging at the first pitch, things really got entertaining.
Steve Nesius / Associated Press
Throughout Enrique Hernandez's nine-pitch battle with Price, Machado appeared to be relaying signs and Hernandez through an exaggerated series of motions.
Machado was the winner of the show. Then, just before each pitch, Machado would begin with a series of motions: touching his helmet with his hand, then touching or pulling the script on his jersey afterward and other times grabbing or touching the thigh / groin area of his pants.
As the at-bat unfolded, LeVangie remained in the dugout while Price fell behind Hernandez 2-1 and then 3-2 before-following three foul balls-throwing a 93 mph fastball that Hernandez swung through for strike three.
"Yeah, maybe, but I saw the whole thing," LeVangie said of Machado's gyrations. "I had told [Boston manager] Alex [Cora] I wanted to go [to the mound] before the Puig at-bat because I wanted to talk about some things.
"But when a guy gets a big punchout in that situation and a coach comes out … I did not want to go with the momentum there because David got a huge strikeout."
More, catcher Christian Vazquez had taken a mound visit already in the inning, trotting out with a price tag. LeVangie was worried about slowing down.
Then, there were two out and runners on first and second, and the score was 1-1.
From second, Machado gestured again. Puig swung at the first pitch he saw, at 93 mph fastball, knocking an RBI single into center to give the Dodgers their first-and-only-lead of the series. It was Machado who scored.
"David makes a good pitch on Puig," LeVangie said. "He jams him. [Puig] gets a flair. Then I gotta go out. But I talked to him, and he got out of that inning.
"I had a clear point I wanted to [make] after that at-bat because I saw Manny the whole time. I knew what he was doing. "
Charles Krupa / Associated Press
Angry with himself because of his decision to visit the Red Sox, LeVangie went out after Puig's RBI.
"We had a conversation," LeVangie said. "I do not want to get into the depths of it, but I got up exactly what you're talking about.
"I let it get in my way because of the strikeout, I did not go out there [earlier]. I was so pissed that I did not. "
Game 2, and after he escaped the fourth, he threw two more hitless frames. While it was unclear whether or not it was able to compete during the Hernandez and Puig at-bats in the fourth, LeVangie was doing his best to properly time his interrupt.
"I just told him, 'Hear me out, I know this is not the right time, but hear me out,'" LeVangie said.
Cora declined to be discussed at the Dodger Stadium when asked about the conversation with LeVangie in the moment.
"I do not have a take," Cora said following an off-day media briefing.
Vazquez, Price and Machado were not available for Dodger Stadium following Dodger Stadium following all-day travel.
Elise Amendola / Associated Press
Stealing signs has been practically since baseball was invented-or, as MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred said Wednesday in Boston, "It's been part of our game since Lassie was a puppy."
It's become a hot topic this October because of various accusations of video shenanigans in the digital age that would violate baseball rules if true and because so much video scouting leaves. Boston closer Craig Kimbrel has had a rough October stretch because of the latter.
Machado, meanwhile, has been in the headlines after being calleddirty player"by Milwaukee Brewers outfielder Christian Yelich during the NLCS and after he told Fox Sports' Ken Rosenthal is not" my cup of tea "and that is not" Johnny Hustle "after being called out for not running hard on various plays this season.
Being stressed apparently to Dodgers hitters from second base is nowhere close to the dirty-player charges, LeVangie emphasized.
"Oh, it's clean," the pitching coach said. "It's baseball." "If you're not hiding your stuff with a runner and you're giving them a free view, it's up to the pitcher and the catcher. We're going to oversee it and make sure we're going about it the right way.
We are very respectful of all this time, and it is a big part of who we are and what we try to manage. we are looking for a second base [that] they're not stealing our signs. We're changing our signs constantly, every pitch. Typically, every one of our pitchers will change every pitch. "
If you're wondering why the average time of a season is small enough, this is one small example. You can never be too careful.
From second base the other night, though, because Machado was almost flamboyant in what he did to do, it did not take a professional detective to sniff out that one.
Asked whether he had seen anything obvious, LeVangie chuckled and said "yes."
"I've seen worse in a Little League a few years ago," he said. "It was a Little League World Series game It was extremely obvious."
Scott Miller covers Major League Baseball as a national columnist for Bleacher Report. Follow Scott on Twitter and talk baseball.
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