Dalton Rushing has made early headlines this season with his seven home runs in just 30 plate appearances entering play on Wednesday, but he’s come under scrutiny during the current Los Angeles Dodgers road trip.
The first instance arose from Rushing alleging something “fishy” with the Colorado Rockies’ success against Will Klein. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts disagreed with the young backstop and cited lack of pitch execution as the reason.
Then during Monday’s game at Oracle Park, Rushing appeared to say “[expletive] ’em” as Jung Hoo Lee sat at home plate upon being thrown out to end the sixth inning. Television cameras captured Rushing looking back toward home plate and appearing to deliver the F-bomb, which quickly went viral on social media.
What did Dalton Rushing say to Jung Hoo Lee?
When asked about his apparent expletive said in Lee’s direction, Rushing said there was nothing intentional and he planned to speak with 27-year-old to clarify, per Jack Harris of the California Post.
“Hopefully he didn’t take it the way it was put out,” Rushing said. “I’ll be sure to say something to him face-to-face tomorrow, making sure he’s OK. There was nothing really directed at him. He’s a great guy.”
Rushing also refuted the notion that he used the word that may lip readers claimed.
“I used a word, but it was not what [people thought] was said,” he insisted. “I’ll just leave it at that.”
Rushing checked with Hyeseong Kim to inquire on Lee’s health further added there was not an attack intended on him or the San Francisco Giants.
“It’s social media, it’s fine,” Rushing said. “As long as he’s OK, and he doesn’t think I’m coming at him or any of those guys over there, that’s the biggest thing for me. I don’t care what other people put out there or say. I just want to play the game, play the game hard. That’s what I do every night.”
Lee’s scoring attempt came from first base as he was running on a pitch that Helios Ramos hit for a single. Lee remained on the ground for a few minutes after the tag and initially stayed in the game. However, he exited one inning later due to aggravating his right quad that was originally injured last week.
Lee was back in the lineup on Wednesday and went 1-for-3 with a run scored in the Giants’ 3-0 win.
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