Manny Machado seemingly threatens Dodgers over Fernando Tatis Jr. hit-by-pitch

After spending an entire series beefing, emotions boiled over between the San Diego Padres and Los Angeles Dodgers on Thursday after Frenando Tatis Jr. was hit by a pitch by rookie pitcher Jack Little in the ninth inning. 

It marked the seventh a hitter had been plunked in the series, and it brought with it the most fireworks, as Dave Roberts and Mike Shildt nearly came to blows in the ensuing benches-clearing incident. 

All in all, it was an ugly series that didn't encapsulate what you truly want to see from a rivalry. In fact, it was the worst possible back-and-forth possible, as it endangered the wellbeing of many players and showed the umpires had no control over the chaos.

And it didn't get any better. It also generated quite the quote from Manny Machado after the fact, which proved this beef won't be subsiding anytime soon.

After the game, Machado told reporters "[the Dodgers] need to set a little candle up for Tatis tomorrow, and hope that everything comes back negative.”

Manny Machado seemingly threatens Dodgers over Fernando Tatis Jr. hit-by-pitch

And not only is that quote another chapter in the Dodgers’ wild journey with the Padres, it’s also another chapter in Machado’s ongoing feud with the Dodgers. 

It may be hard to remember now, but Machado was once a Dodger — and a pretty good one at that. He hit .273 with 13 home runs in 66 regular season games with LA before batting .227 in the postseason while also drumming up some drama of his own. 

He then signed an 11-year, $350 million contract with the Padres, and has been public enemy No. 1 in Los Angeles since. 

All of which sets up what happened on Thursday. 

While Tatis’ hit by pitch marked the third time he had been hit in the seven games between the two teams, it didn’t seem intentional at the time and Dave Roberts came out and confirmed as much after the game. 

"I think anyone would understand there’s no intent there," Roberts told reporters after the game. "And even by my reaction, I didn’t feel good about Tatis -- great player, good guy -- getting hit."

That kerfuffle resulted in both Roberts and Shildt getting ejected, which made it seem like everything had died down … and then Padres closer Robert Suarez hit Shohei Ohtani in the back with a fastball on a 3-0 pitch. About as blatant of a hit-by-pitch as you can get, and the Dodgers made it known after the game that they felt that way.

"This is a right-handed pitcher going cross-court to hit Shohei up and in,” Roberts said after the game. “That’s a hard throw. And I don’t know how many left-handed hitters Suarez has hit with the fastball. But clearly there was intent behind it.”

And while Ohtani waved off the Dodgers’ dugout after the hit by pitch, tensions are likely still going to linger between the two teams, especially after Machado’s comment, even if it wasn’t as menacing as he made it seem. 

At the end of the day, Machado likely meant that the Padres’ desire to retaliate in the future will be higher if Tatis has to miss any time due to the injury. 

Dave Roberts has already proven that he has no problem standing up for his team, and Machado's quote showed that he's in no rush to squash things either.

That said, they won't face off against until August. That's a long time to let these feelings of frustration linger.