The St. Louis Cardinals are up three games to one on the Los Angeles Dodgers in the National League Championship Series, but are still taking exception to the Dodgers' on-field exuberance.
Yasiel Puig was chided by Cardinals outfielder Carlos Beltran after the Dodgers victory in Game 3 for admiring a shot he hit and lifting his arms in the air before legging out a triple. Upon sliding into third base Puig proceeded to clap loudly and shout. Stemming from the same game, Cardinals ace Adam Wainwright said he saw L.A. first baseman Adrian Gonzalez doing "some Mickey Mouse stuff" at second base.
Dodgers manager Don Mattingly is speaking up on behalf of his players now, claiming they're doing nothing but playing with enthusiasm. Mattingly said he has "zero problems" with his players' conduct, and said he's stayed quiet when St. Louis has let their own emotions get the better of them.
"I also had zero problems the other day when they got out of the bases-loaded jam and Yadier Molina pumps his fist," Mattingly said. "To me, that's just baseball. Guys get excited. I had zero problems with their celebration the way they do it and I think our guys were excited that our backs were to the wall. They've been stopping us and shutting us down."
Following the Puig controversy, of which there have been many this season, Beltran insinuated that Cardinals' pitchers may ramp up their intensity during his at-bats.
"When you try to do those things sometimes, you know, you get that attention," Beltran said. "And you don't want to wake up nobody. I always thought if you hit a home run off a pitcher, you've got to make him believe he made a mistake. You don't wake him up. Or next time, the pitcher's going to be more focused with you and he's going to try harder to get you out. So he will learn. I don't think he's a bad kid. I just think he doesn't know right now."
Beltran's words proved to not be prophetic; while the Cardinals won 4-2, Puig had two hits and an RBI while walking once.
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