Major League Baseball

Madison Bumgarner calls Victor Robles 'clown' over home run celebration

Published Jul. 24, 2022 3:47 p.m. ET

Madison Bumgarner took exception to Victor Robles' home run celebration in a Saturday night matchup between the Arizona Diamondbacks and Washington Nationals.

Arizona led Washington 7-1 in the eighth inning of Game 2 of their three-game series. Robles launched a home run to left field and styled after making contact off Bumgarner.

When asked about Robles' celebration, Bumgarner called the Nationals outfielder a "clown."

"The guy's a clown, golly," Bumgarner said. "No shame. No shame. It's 7-1, you hit your third homer of the year and you act like Barry Bonds breaking the record. Clean it up. I don't care about giving up the run. Hell, we won 7-2, 8-2, whatever it was. That's frustrating. I'm the old grumpy guy I know, but that type of stuff that didn't use to happen."

Robles countered with the notion that Bumgarner should instead worry about striking out hitters (h/t The Washington Post's Jesse Dougherty).

"When he's pitching well, he's able to celebrate and do what he likes to do," Robles said. "It seems like he calls everybody a clown that actually has a big hit or home run against him. If he doesn't want anyone hitting a home run against him or having any issues with that, then just strike people out or make better pitches to where he doesn't have to worry about that."

Robles owns a .236/.301/.322 batting line with three home runs, 24 RBIs and 11 stolen bases this season. Bumgarner, a potential trade candidate with the last-place Diamondbacks in the National League West, holds a 3.71 ERA, 1.33 WHIP and 78 strikeouts across 104.1 innings pitched in 20 starts.

This isn't the first case of Bumgarner getting peeved by a homer celebration. The lefty also had a spat with Los Angeles Dodgers' infielder Max Muncy in 2019. Bumgarner, a member of the San Francisco Giants at the time, took exception to Muncy admiring his own home run.