Watch: Pedroia tells Machado 'it's not me' during heated exchange
Tempers flared between the Boston Red Sox and Baltimore Orioles yet again after Red Sox reliever Matt Barnes threw an eighth-inning pitch at Orioles star Manny Machado's head Sunday afternoon - and Dustin Pedroia immediately tried to distance himself from the situation.
The second baseman was forced to leave Friday's game after Machado finished off an aggressive slide. He hasn't played since. In the aftermath, he told reporters retaliation wasn't in the cards, labeling that notion a middle-school attitude.
Machado didn't anticipate retaliation either. While he wasn't hit Sunday, the ball came close to his head, and instead struck his bat. Barnes was ejected.
The video clearly shows Pedroia telling Machado, "It's not me. ... I know that, you know that."
Machado seemed unshaken - or, perhaps, extra motivated - by the incident. He hit a double off Joe Kelly shortly after, driving in the Orioles' first of two runs in the game.
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