Braves' Simmons irks Nationals with aggressive slide

The Washington Nationals were pretty much unanimous in their distaste for the aggressive slide from Andrelton Simmons that forced third baseman Yunel Escobar to an early exit from Monday's 8-4 loss to the Atlanta Braves.

In the bottom of the fifth inning, Simmons rounded second and headed for third after an errant pickoff attempt from Doug Fister sailed into right field. Though the throw from the outfield appeared to have him beat at third base, Simmons nevertheless slid into the bag hard, with his feet first, knocking Escobar's glove off and cutting his left hand in the process.

Simmons was ruled safe at third base and Escobar was removed from the game, a sequence that drew didn't sit too well with the Nationals.

(Courtesy: MLB.com)

"You can't slide like that," National right fielder Bryce Harper told MLB.com's Mark Bowman. "(He) really plays with a lot of energy, so you kind of expect something like that. But that slide was definitely uncalled for."

Harper's sentiment was echoed by teammate Ian Desmond, who suggested Simmons' slide reflected a serious lapse in judgment.

"He really didn't slide at all. It was a pretty ugly slide. You've got to be way smarter than that. There's a right way to play the game, and that’s not the right way.

"That kid's a good player, he plays with lot of energy, but you've got to be way smarter than that," Desmond added. "I went back and looked at the video and saw that it was a pretty ugly slide. Obviously, at that point, you get mad."

Simmons, though, insisted there was no malice behind the play.

"I was going hard," said Simmons. "Just going hard and trying to go right for the bag," said Simmons. "It's bad that somebody got hurt. Hopefully it's not that bad, but I was just trying to to play hard."