The Red Sox endured a Looney Toons moment in the field during their 7-1 loss on Saturday night, as Alfredo Aceves charged in between catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia and first baseman James Loney in an attempt to catch a foul pop-up. Aceves ran into Saltalamacchia's mitt as the ball bounced off of Aceves' glove, resulting in an error on the pitcher.
Though the play prolonged Jonny Gomes' at-bat, its significance was muted when he fouled out. Still, after the inning, cameras caught Aceves and Dustin Pedroia involved in a shouting match in the dugout in which third base coach Jerry Royster interceded, perhaps related to a couple of pickoff attempts that Aceves made on Coco Crisp at second base.
After the game, Pedroia told reporters, "That's none of your guys' business. That's between teammates."
Aceves, similarly, told reporters, "It was something that we have to communicate on, between us, but that’s us. That stays with us. That’s part of the game. Whatever happens in the game stays in the game."
Manager Bobby Valentine, meanwhile, made it fairly evident with whom he sympathized.
"That's just Alfredo being Alfredo and Dustin being a baseball player," Valentine told reporters.
Aceves, of course, was suspended for three games last Saturday for "conduct detrimental to the team" related to his reaction when teammate Andrew Bailey recorded a four-out save on Aug. 24. Aceves ended up allowing one run in three innings on Saturday night, lowering his ERA to 4.73.
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