What looked like a heated exchange in the fifth inning may have left more than just bad blood between the Chicago Cubs and Arizona Diamondbacks. The D-backs accused Cubs third base coach Quintin Berry of trying to steal signs, sparking a fiery war of words between the two dugouts and bringing the game close enough to a bench-clearing incident.

While the tensions eventually cooled and the game continued without further drama, Arizona apparently isn’t ready to move on. Merrill Kelly, whose pitching signs were reportedly at the center of the controversy, had some pointed words after the game.

“We just thought that he (Berry) was relaying signs; we thought he had something on my changeup. We thought he was giving, especially to lefties, every time I was throwing a changeup, we thought he was relaying that,” Kelly said in a video shared by reporter Nick King on X. “Stealing signs is as old as baseball. I think it’s a little bulls*** when it comes from a coach.”

The drama unfolded in the fifth inning with Kelly on the mound. The Diamondbacks’ dugout screamed about a probable sign-stealing incident. They were all convinced that Berry was tracking Kelly’s glove and stealing pitch information. It started as yelling until Kelly gave Berry a stare in the Cubs’ dugout. That was enough gunpowder in the fire, and both dugouts went straight against each other.

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“No, no no. F*** you! F*** you!” Cubs bench coach Ryan Flaherty shouted at the D-Backs dugout. Torey Lovullo also joined the chaos and went on to rant against the Cubs. Meanwhile, the broadcasters explained how MLB rules require base coaches to remain in their boxes while the pitcher is on the mound to prevent such incidents. Probably, the D-Backs noticed something unusual from the Cubs’ end.

“If it’s a guy on second base and they see the grip in your glove, or if the hitters can see something that you’re doing with your glove, I think that’s fair game. Guys have been doing that since the beginning of baseball. I think it’s a little bush league when it comes from outside that,” Kelly went on to add against the Cubs’ coach.

However, amid the chaos, Kelly acknowledged that he needs to be skilled enough to hide his pitch information, as things can get repeated in the future.

“I got to take a look at what I’m doing because clearly he had something. Obviously, if he has it, then other people would probably pick up on it as well. I’ve got to figure out to do better on my part to not give it away,” Kelly added.

The game ended with the Cubs securing a shutout 7-0 win against the Diamondbacks. The war of words in the middle fortunately didn’t go beyond the field.

“That’s part of the spirit of the game at times, right? I mean, it’s competitive. It’s August,” D-backs bench coach Jeff Banister said about things getting heated mid-game.

Surely it is. Postseason is just a few weeks away, and it’s time for the teams to rake up their fighting spirit. Unfortunately, this wasn’t the first time the Cubs have been accused of sign-stealing.

The Cubs Are No Strangers to Sign-Stealing Allegations

During the 2016 postseason, Los Angeles Dodgers catcher Yasmani Grandal accused Cubs second baseman Ben Zobrist of stealing signs during Game 1. It was alleged that the Cubs batter Addison Russell suddenly stopped swinging at breaking balls. He seemed focused entirely on fastballs after Zobrist reached second base. Grandal stated the Dodgers were actively paranoid and constantly shifted their signs to combat the Cubs.

The Cubs, though, laughed off the accusation, stating it was too dark to decode catcher sequences from second base at Wrigley Field.

“I think it’s hilarious,” Zobrist said via ESPN. “No, I was not stealing signs. But I appreciate him thinking my baseball IQ is that high. … I don’t know what he was looking at or what he thought he saw. But really, from second base at Wrigley, it’s very tough to even see the signs. It’s so dark. All the lights are behind the hitter. … But I think all catchers are probably a little paranoid about that.”

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts defused the situation by calling it standard, acceptable baseball gamesmanship. This time around, however, the situation seemed more intense. However, the Cubs’ front office has yet to address the situation.

It would be interesting to see the impact of these exchanges linger into the second game of the series. The fans at Chase Field surely would have something to offer the visiting team in that case.