Tate responds to Pham accusations

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - The venom and confrontational accusations that flowed out of the Rays' Tommy Pham following yesterday's game have left the Orioles a bit confused.

Pham apparently thought Tanner Scott hit him intentionally in the eighth inning and Dillon Tate buzzed him in the decisive 10th, right before a walk-off single in Tampa Bay's 5-4 win. He also told the media that the Orioles dugout was "chirping" as if to encourage the rookie to keep coming inside.

"First pitch, he threw it at my head," Pham told Fox Sports Sun's Tricia Whitaker on the field, "and after that I just wanted to kill him."

Choosing the more peaceful path, Pham handed Tate the loss with a sharp ground ball that zipped past third baseman Rio Ruiz.

Scott nailed Pham on the right knee with a slider in the eighth before striking out the next two batters. Pham stole second base, a pretty good indication that he came through the incident unscathed.

"Come on, this is the big leagues," he said, expressing his displeasure with Scott.

The inside pitch from Tate didn't send Pham sprawling in the dirt, which back in the day would have constituted a buzzing.

"I'm more frustrated with their dugout hollering after the pitches that were thrown," Pham said. "Kind of like they were cheering him on that he was buzzing me up and in. But success is revenge. And I got the game-winning hit for us."

Tate didn't want to engage in a war of words today with Pham.

"I've never tried to hit anybody before," Tate said. "All I can really say is I'm not going to take shots at another man through camera or interview like that, so that's all I really have on that."

Tate didn't plan to seek out Pham and clear the air.

"No, not really," he said when asked if he'd address the matter with Pham. "I mean, if it ends up happening, I'm sure we'll talk about it, but as of right now, no. Just playing baseball, really. Just having fun."

The Rays are leading the wild card race and it was suggested to Tate that emotions might be running high on the home side based on the importance of each game.

"Perhaps, maybe," Tate said. "I can definitely speak on myself and say that when I've been in the heat of the moment in competition, sometimes things come out and maybe that's what happened. I don't know. I'm not really speaking for him on that matter. But that's all I have on that."

Another Oriole denied that they had been chirping from the dugout, pointing out that everyone would have heard it inside the quiet dome.