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Cleveland Indians pitcher, family reportedly receive death threats after tough loss: ‘Absolutely inexcusable’

Cleveland Indians relief pitcher Nick Wittgren waits for Tampa Bay Rays' Ji-Man Choi to run the bases on a three-run home run in the ninth inning of a baseball game Friday, July 23, 2021, in Cleveland. (AP Photo/Tony Dejak)

CLEVELAND (WJW) — The baseball team soon to be called the Cleveland Guardians lost to the Tampa Bay Rays Friday night, prompting angry fans to send death threats to pitcher Nick Wittgren, his wife has said.

Going into the ninth inning, the score was tied 4-4, but when Wittgren took to the mound, things fell apart quickly and the Rays scored six runs. The final score was 10-5.

According to Wittgren’s wife Ashley, the pitcher has received death threats since the game’s conclusion. The threats have even been aimed at the pitcher’s kids, Ashley said in a recent Twitter post.

To be clear, the game was a regular season Friday night game and the Indians are currently still about .500.

This is certainly not the first time derogatory/threatening social media commentary has been made against Cleveland players this year. Back in April, first baseman Yu Chang was on the receiving end of racist tweets after making a costly error during a game.

The ballclub’s office has been contacted for comment about the latest incident.