Phillies’ Jose Alvarado on Braves’ Guillermo Heredia chirping at him: ‘Respect the game’

Alvarado didn't appreciate what he heard from his former teammate with the Rays. "He needs to respect the pitcher."

Phillies relief pitcher Jose Alvarado tells the Braves dugout to be quiet after getting out of the eighth inning on Tuesday.Read moreYong Kim / Staff Photographer

Published Oct. 11, 2022, 6:46 p.m. ET

ATLANTA — Phillies reliever Jose Alvarado heard chirping from the Braves’ dugout while he was pitching in the eighth inning in Game 1 of the NL Division Series on Tuesday. He said it was coming from his former teammate on the 2019 Tampa Bay Rays, outfielder Guillermo Heredia, who is now a bench player for Atlanta.

Alvarado said he heard Heredia laughing and shouting at him. Alvarado went on to retire the three Atlanta batters he faced on 11 pitches in the Phillies’ 7-6 victory. He said he told Heredia to be quiet as he was walking off the field.

“This guy, he needs to respect the game more,” Alvarado said after the game. “I come in focused in a situation in the game. I am not paying attention [to him], I don’t like that stuff that Heredia was saying to me. He needs to respect the pitcher when he comes into the situation because that moment is very serious. He’s laughing about the situation. You need to respect when we come into the game.

“Everybody thinks, ‘Oh, I want to attack Alvarado,’ because before my mentality was all crazy. But right now, nobody can change my mentality. Nobody. I’m focused. When we come into the game, I come in to hit the target. I don’t care who is hitting. Strike one, strike two, and good luck.”

Alvarado had a 7.62 ERA before he was sent down to triple A on May 27. After he returned, he allowed only seven earned runs through 38 innings. He believes he deserves more respect from Heredia given how he has pitched since he returned.

Alvarado said he plans to talk to Heredia about the exchange on Wednesday during batting practice.

Mound preferences

You may have noticed that Alvarado is particular about his pitching mounds. Often, before his outings, the groundskeepers will be out on the mound, adjusting it to his liking.

He continued that trend on Tuesday. Alvarado said that he didn’t like the way Braves starter Max Fried set up his mound, and he was worried about injuring himself.

“Fried, he makes a big hole on the mound,” Alvarado said. “I don’t want to break my ankle.

“I’m a big guy. When I see a big hole in the mound, they need to fix it because I’m not breaking my ankle.”