Pittsburgh Pirates' Sean Rodriguez apologizes

Pittsburgh utilityman Sean Rodriguez apologized Thursday for his outburst during the Pirates' 4-0 loss to the Chicago Cubs in the National League wild-card game.

Rodriguez was ejected in the seventh inning of Wednesday night's game after a scuffle between the teams that started when Pirates reliever Tony Watson hit Chicago Cubs right-hander Jake Arrieta with a pitch.

It appeared that Rodriguez came out of the dugout and threw a punch during the scrum. He later accused Cubs catcher David Ross of grabbing him by the neck.

When order was restored and Rodriguez reached the dugout, he pounded a water cooler with punches that caused it to topple over.

"I want to apologize for allowing my emotions to control my actions in a negative manner. I also spoke to the cooler, apologized personally, and he's forgiven me as Christ forgives all," Rodriguez tweeted Thursday afternoon.