ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- Tampa Bay's Matt Garza hit New York Yankees slugger Mark Teixeira with a fifth-inning pitch Wednesday night, then said he did it because he's tired of opposing pitchers throwing at Rays All-Star Evan Longoria.
Teixeira, who homered and drove in two runs in the Yankees' 6-2 victory over Garza, was plunked after one of Joba Chamberlain's pitches sailed over Longoria's head in the previous inning.
"They can take whatever they want from it from it, but I just kind of got tired of people brushing him back. It's about time someone made a statement," Garza said, noting that Longoria was hit by a pitch in the opener of the three-game series on Monday night.
"I hate to be that guy, but someone had to take a stand and say we're tired of it," the right-hander added. "You can go after our best guy. Well, we'll make some noise, too, and that's what happened."
Longoria, who was hit by Yankees reliever Jonathan Albaladejo on Monday, did not take issue with Chamberlain.
"That's just the way the game goes. I don't know if it was intentional, unintentional or if it was a way to kind of stir up our dugout," Longoria said. "I don't have any hatred or negative feelings. It's just part of the game."