The Cincinnati Reds’ series finale against the San Francisco Giants at Great American Ball Park ended with Giants relief pitcher Erik Miller screaming at Reds rookie Sal Stewart to “sit the f— down” after a strikeout, before benches cleared and the two were separated.
Miller had never faced Stewart, but tension between the teams had built earlier in the game and the series.
The Reds’ Connor Phillips was ejected in the eighth inning for hitting the Giants’ Willy Adames with a pitch, after Giants starter Landen Roupp earlier hit the Reds’ Spencer Steer with a pitch. Steer had a beef one night earlier with Giants reliever JT Brubaker.
“I was just fired up, probably let the emotions get the best of me,” Miller told reporters after the April 16 game. “I’m not trying to like direct anything specifically at him. I have no problem with him. I just said a sentence that most hitters probably don’t like to hear, so I can understand why he was upset. It was just more of like I was really fired up. It wasn’t anything personal. I don’t have anything against Stewart. It’s (just) he happened to be the guy at the plate.”
What to know about Miller:
Erik Miller said Cincinnati drama spurred the Giants to win.
“I don’t think it’s a coincidence that we played well,” Miller said after the game. “Any time you kind of feel like you’re all – something like that generally I feel like makes people (feel like) you’re going towards one goal. Like there’s one thing you’re focused on. And it’s like staying together, or sticking up for some guy. Or you feel wronged by something and you want to stick up for it. That generally leads to more kind of togetherness. And I don’t think it’s a coincidence that you end up playing a lot better a lot of times. That’s obviously not like something that’s sustainable, and you can ride that the whole time. But if that’s something you need like a spark to get going, that’s great for us.”
Miller struck out three of the four batters he faced in his only inning, and recorded his first MLB save, in his 116th big-league appearance.
Erik Miller once allowed a pinch-hit, inside-the-park homer against the Reds.
Miller has allowed one earned run in eight career appearances against Cincinnati. He’s walked seven and struck out seven in 6 2/3 innings.
In the eighth inning of the Giants’ 4-2 loss in San Francisco in May 2024, Miller allowed a pinch-hit, inside-the-park home run to former Red Stuart Fairchild.
Miller had walked Steer one batter earlier, but then Steer was caught stealing. Fairchild’s solo homer gave the Reds a 4-2 lead.
It’s one of just seven homers Miller has given up in three MLB seasons, and the only one of the inside-the-park variety.
The Reds had claimed Fairchild off waivers from the Giants two years earlier.
The Reds and Giants play again in August, in San Francisco.
The Reds travel to the Bay Area for a three-game series August 24-26.
It’s the only other time the two teams are scheduled to meet during the 2026 season.
The Reds won two of three games of the series with the Giants.
Cincinnati split six games with San Francisco in 2025, losing two of three at GABP in March but winning two of three on the road several days later.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Erik Miller, Giants pitcher, screamed at Reds’ Sal Stewart at GABP
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