Yesterday he was covering home plate to catch a throw, because catcher Ken Huckaby had to run up the first-base line to complete a rundown.
As Tavarez braced for the throw home from second baseman Zach Borowiak, speedy Joey Gathright churned to the plate. Tavarez's left leg got caught on Gathright's right forearm as he tagged him out.
Gathright, angered by this, pushed Tavarez's leg and hollered something at him. As Gathright got up off the ground, Tavarez promptly gave him a right hook to the face, and then another punch to the top of the head.
"I slid in and then he was standing on my arm -- I can show you marks," said Gathright, who did have some scratches on his arm. "I was trying to get up. I couldn't get up, because he was putting more pressure on it. I was like, 'Get off my arm,' but he wouldn't move, so I tried to get up and push his knee back, and I was getting up. He swung at me, and that's when it all started.
"I was shocked. It was kind of funny, but it happens. I guess he was upset because he was getting hit a little bit, but whatever the reason was, it wasn't called for."
Tavarez, who gave up a hit, three unearned runs and committed a throwing error over two-thirds of an inning, said he was defending himself.
"You have to defend yourself, man," said Tavarez. "I don't have a twin brother out there. He was like, 'Hey man,' I tried to get out [of the way] and I wasn't going to let him throw a punch at me right away. You ever hear that whoever gets the first punch gets the win? That's what happened. That's how it goes."
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