Spitting mad or sweaty ire? Molina bumps ump

The Cardinals and Brewers played nine testy innings Tuesday night in Milwaukee: First Albert Pujols was hit with a pitch on the left wrist that the slugger broke earlier this season. Then Ryan Braun was drilled in the back and both benches were warned.

But that was just the beginning. In the 10th inning, things really got heated when Cardinals catcher Yadier Molina bumped - and apparently spit on - home plate umpire Rob Drake after arguing a called third strike. Drake wiped his face at least twice during the argument.

Molina, who was ejected, had to be held back by teammates and coaches before finally being ushered to the clubhouse.

The umpire declined to comment after the game but the catcher spoke to reporters. Molina said he didn't intentionally spit at Drake and believed the umpire bumped him first.

"He was pushing at me," Molina said. "I would never spit on any face of a man. That's not me. I was so sweaty, my face was so sweaty and I was yelling, yelling at him. I would never spit on anybody's face."

You can see an animated gif of the incident from Twitter user @soccerkevin11 here.

Whether it was spit or sweat, Molina is likely to face a suspension for bumping the umpire.

Interestingly, the incident comes just ten days after Roberto Alomar - the most famous spitter in baseball history - was elected into the Hall of Fame.