Sean Rodriguez apologizes for role in skirmish, punching cooler

Sean Rodriguez tweeted an apology for his actions in Wednesday night's bench-clearing scuffle and added an apology to the cooler he pummeled in the Pittsburgh Pirates dugout after his ejection.

After his ejection from the National League wild-card game, the Pirates utility man proceeded to give the unsuspecting water cooler a series of one-two combinations, eventually sending it tumbling to the ground.

Pirates reliever Tony Watson drilled Chicago Cubs aceJake Arrietaon the left side with a fastball in the top of the seventh inning to spark the scuffle. Arrieta and Watson exchanged words near home plate,and the bullpens and benches briefly emptied onto the field. The teams gathered around each other along the first-base line, but it appeared to be mostly pushing and shoving. Watson was issued a warning.

Rodriguez appeared to throw a punch during the scuffle, and he accused Cubs catcherDavid Rossof grabbing him by the neck in the scrum.

The Cubs were leading 4-0 at the time of the dustup, and the score held up, with Arrieta pitching a shutout. It was the first complete-game shutout for the Cubs in the postseason since Claude Passeau tossed a one-hitter in the 1945 World Series against Detroit.

Arrieta had hit two Pirates earlier in the game, though neither hit appeared intentional.