Rowan Wick Gives Shady Answer on Joey Votto Incident

The Cincinnati Reds' 4-3 victory over the Chicago Cubs on Wednesday looks ordinary on paper, but the game itself was anything but that. Tensions began to rise late in the game, stemming from a verbal altercation between Cubs reliever Rowan Wick and Reds first baseman Joey Votto.

After walking Votto in the eighth inning, Rowan could be seen saying something that clearly bothered the veteran slugger. The Cubs pitcher had a chance to clear things up after the game, but some fans might find his explanation as being shady at best.

Rowan Wick on his dispute with Joey Votto: “All I said was ‘nice bat flip.’ I understand he’s been in the league a long time. He can do whatever he wants when he walks. On my side, I was not happy at all with the pitches that I threw, so I let the emotions get the best of me.”
— Patrick Mooney (@PJ_Mooney) May 26, 2022

Rowan Wick Cubs News

Wick told reporters after the game that he simply told Votto "nice bat flip" after the 38-yer-old tossed his bat towards the Reds' dugout. Wick added that he "let the emotions get the best of him," though it's hard to believe that a simple "nice bat flip" led to Votto getting as angry as he did.

Reds fans on social media aren't buying Wick's excuse either. You don't need to be a lip-reading expert to see that the Canadian righty dropped a likely obscenity around the 49-second mark in the replay video below.

Cubs reliever Rowan Wick throws up and in on Joey Votto then yells at him after walking him on four pitches

Then Reds reliever Hunter Strickland hits Patrick Wisdom and Chicago manager David Ross gets ejected pic.twitter.com/ImaZGPA7FR
— Jomboy Media (@JomboyMedia) May 26, 2022

Cubs coach David Ross commented after the game that the Wick-Votto interaction potentially led to Reds right-handed pitcher Hunter Strickland hitting Patrick Wisdom with a pitch during the top of the ninth inning. The umpires refused to review the play, ultimately leading to Ross' ejection.

Whether or not you buy Ross' explanation, his words have added a spark to the Cubs-Reds rivalry. Only time will tell if the tension is still there during Thursday's rematch.

Cubs vs Reds Odds (May 26)

All signs point to the Cubs avenging Wednesday's loss when they face the Reds for the final game of their four-game series on Thursday. FanDuel Sportsbook is currently favoring Chicago at -118 on the moneyline, whereas Cincinnati sits at +100.

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Devon Platana is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, Devon Platana also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username PepeSilvia0. While the strategies and player selections recommended in his articles are his personal views, he may deploy different strategies and player selections when entering contests with his personal account. The views expressed in their articles are the author's alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of FanDuel.