Pirates get last laugh vs Cardinals with Willson Contreras meltdown, franchise low

The Pittsburgh Pirates suffered a gut punch of a loss to the St. Louis Cardinals on Monday when they tied the game in the top of the ninth on a Ronny Simon RBI double, only to give up a walk-off homer to Alec Burleson to end the game.

The Pirates fell to 57-75 with the loss to their National League Central division rivals. In a refreshing departure from the norm, however, they weren't the ones engulfed in a PR nightmare by the time the game was over.

Though Burleson's walk-off homer won the game for the Cardinals, it was Willson Contreras' temper tantrum of epic proportions that stole the show in the seventh inning. The Cardinals' DH was ejected from the game after he struck out in the bottom of the inning, causing him to erupt in anger at home plate umpire Derek Thomas. Contreras needed to be held back by a few Cardinals coaches, including manager Oli Marmol, as he headed back to the dugout.

But Contreras' outburst didn't end there. As he walked to the dugout, he turned around and threw his bat, inadvertently hitting Cardinals hitting coach Brant Brown. Then, for his grand finale, Contreras launched a bucket of Hi-Chew candy onto the field as he made his exit to the clubhouse.

Pirates get last laugh vs Cardinals with Willson Contreras meltdown, woeful attendance mark

Contreras told members of the media, including Katie Woo of The Athletic (subscription required), that he hadn't argued any pitches at the time of his ejection. Rather, he said, he urged the umpires to "call the pitches on both sides" before being thrown out for "no reason." He also said that he apologized to Brown after accidentally hitting him with his bat.

However, the damage had already been done, and Contreras now faces the possibility of additional consequences for his actions. Contreras and Marmol were both ejected from the game for reportedly "saying vulgar stuff" to Thomas, and there was belief that Contreras had intentionally made contact with an umpire. But throwing a bat crosses the line, and MLB may choose to make an example out of Contreras with an even heftier punishment.

Contreras was also not the only source of embarrassment for the Cardinals, who announced 17,675 ticket sales at Busch Stadium III for Monday's game. According to Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, it was the smallest crowd in Busch Stadium history and the first time they had sold fewer than 20,000 tickets.

Fan frustration in St. Louis appears to be mounting – something that is all too familiar for Pirates fans – but it's oddly comforting to know that Pittsburgh isn't the only NL Central market that has seen lackluster baseball lead to a decline in fan enthusiasm.

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