San¨®'s comments cause stir with Jim¨¦nez

Joe Jiménez has faced Miguel San¨® five times in the Major Leagues since 2017. After their latest meeting Saturday night, their future matchups are going to get a lot of attention.

San¨® said he took extra time celebrating his seventh-inning home run off Jim¨¦nez because Jim¨¦nez said something to him after striking him out last season, and to Nelson Cruz after striking him out to end a seventh-inning threat last weekend in Detroit.

¡°He struck me out with a slider in the dirt, and he told me, ¡®Get ... out of here,¡¯¡± Sano said after Saturday¡¯s 4-3 Twins walk-off win. ¡°I told Nellie, ¡®Hey, next time I face him, I¡¯m going to crush him. I¡¯m going to do the same thing.¡¯ He¡¯s not supposed to get mad, you know? You [celebrated] it, but get ready for the [celebration] too.¡±

The resulting celebration led to San¨® and Jim¨¦nez shouting at each other from their respective dugouts.

After reading San¨®¡¯s comments, Jim¨¦nez said Sunday morning that no such thing happened to prompt it.

¡°I have big respect for him before yesterday,¡± Jim¨¦nez said. ¡°There's no reason for it. He said something to, I believe it was [Victor] Reyes, and he said he did that because I [celebrated] some strikeout or something like that to Nelson Cruz back home. That was a lie.¡±

What Jim¨¦nez did, after striking out Cruz last week as well as after striking out San¨® last year, looked like his usual game-ending celebration. San¨®¡¯s strikeout on a Jim¨¦nez fastball finished off a 10-7 Tigers win.

The Cruz strikeout preserved a 3-2 lead on the way to a series sweep.

¡°I didn't do it personal,¡± Jim¨¦nez said. ¡°I didn't do it to affect him, because I'm not doing good. I'm not going to be that guy.¡±

Though the celebration itself drew a reaction from Jim¨¦nez, he had a bigger issue with the comments after the game.

¡°I never, ever have done anything on the mound to affect the other hitter,¡± Jim¨¦nez said. ¡°I never said something to a hitter. I never got in a fight before in baseball. It's just stupid that he thinks that, because obviously we speak the language and he knows what I say every time that I strike out somebody in a big situation, that it's like, 'Let's go.' It got me by surprise and a lot of people have talked to me about it. He got the homer. He got the pitch. I hang a slider and he hit a homer. I deserve that. But to do it like that and to say something like that to the press, that's what bothers me. I respect him. I respect all those guys in the other clubhouse. But it just disappoints me. ...

¡°I'm here to play baseball. I'm not here to talk. I'm not here to fight. It's just disappointing that he thinks like that. Obviously, he was wrong.¡±

San¨®¡¯s reaction might make Jim¨¦nez¡¯s next strikeout celebration personal.

¡°We're going to face each other a lot,¡± Jim¨¦nez said. ¡°I don't know what's going to happen from now on, but I didn't say anything to him and I wasn't going to. But because he said something yesterday, I'm going to do my own thing, too. So if I [celebrate] a strikeout and I look at him or whatever, he can't get mad.¡±

Quick hits
? Shortstop Willi Castro said he did his best to try to get off a quick, strong throw on Byron Buxton¡¯s game-winning infield single Saturday. ¡°As soon as he hit it, I saw he took off running,¡± Castro said. ¡°And I think that was the best play I could've done. I had to set my feet so I could make a strong throw. If I would¡¯ve thrown running, it was going to be like a little lob. I think that was the best play, but he¡¯s a really fast guy.¡±

? Sergio Alcántara made his Major League debut Sunday when he started at third base. He became the ninth Tiger to make his big league debut this season.

? Right-handed reliever David McKay cleared waivers and was outrighted to the alternate training site in Toledo, Ohio. The Tigers designated McKay for assignment earlier in the week; he has been working in Toledo since being optioned by the Tigers near the end of July.