Brewers manager Pat Murphy calls out ‘unacceptable’ crotch chop celebration from relief pitcher Abner Uribe

Milwaukee Brewers manager Pat Murphy wasn’t happy with the celebration that his relief pitcher Abner Uribe pulled out on the mound on Tuesday night. 

Uribe, after closing out the eighth inning of the Brewers’ 6-0 win over the St. Louis Cardinals, turned and made three massive crotch chop gestures while facing the Cardinals dugout. 

The Brewers were up by six runs at the time, and the final pitch was upheld after a Cardinals challenge, though just barely. 

“I don’t know what got over him,” Murphy said, via The Associated Press. “I mean, he’s an emotional guy, but that kind of thing, that’s just not how we do things. 

“I was embarrassed by it. Why are we doing it? It’s a 6-0 game. What are we doing there?”

Uribe apologized for his actions later on through an interpreter, but he also called out the Cardinals for something he said happened during Monday’s contest between the two teams. St. Louis manager Oliver Marmol, Uribe said, was making signs that made him think was a call to hit Brewers batters intentionally. 

He didn’t elaborate on those allegations, and Marmol declined to get into Uribe’s actions.

“Everyone here knows me and knows who I am, and knows I have a bit of a history of being emotional out there,” Uribe said. “I think first I owe an apology to the Brewers. I owe an apology to my teammates, to my manager, all the bosses of the team. I understand that’s unacceptable, to go out there and react in a way like that.”

“But at the same time, I don’t think it’s unprofessional for their manager to be making signs towards our dugout saying that he’s going to be hitting guys.”

Uribe is in his fourth season in the league this year. The 25-year-old holds a 2-2 record and a 4.42 ERA in 20 appearances on the mound.

The Brewers have won nine of their last 12 games, and currently lead the NL Central race with a 32-20 record. The Brewers and Cardinals will wrap up their three-game series on Wednesday afternoon.

It’s unclear if Uribe will face any discipline from the league for his celebration on Tuesday night, but Murphy said he’s already spoken with him about the incident. 

“I love the kid. Believe me, I love the kid,” Murphy said. “There’s so much good in this kid. He’s been so great for us in so many ways, but that’s unacceptable. So, whatever’s going on, you can’t tolerate that. For his teammates, and for everything, it’s not going to be tolerated, that’s all there is to it.”