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Cleveland Indians pitcher Nick Wittgren says family received death threats following Friday night's loss

The Tribe reliever allowed five runs in the ninth inning, prompting 'inexcusable' remarks on social media.

CLEVELAND — The Indians lost to the Tampa Bay Rays Friday night 10-5, adding to a stretch that has seen the team slip further out of playoff contention.

The turning point came in the ninth inning with the game tied at four, when Tribe Nick Wittgren allowed five runs to suddenly put the game out of reach. Once a stalwart in the bullpen, Wittgren has struggled this season with a 5.73 ERA across 34 appearances.

Defeats like last night unfortunately happen, and usually no one blames fans for being upset or frustrated. However, according to Wittgren and his family, the reactions of some following his latest performance were "absolutely unacceptable."

Saturday afternoon, Wittgren took to Twitter to post messages he received after the game. The user issued graphic death threats towards Wittgren, his wife, and his children, while also addressing the pitcher with homophobic slurs.

"Sadly this is considered 'normal' in professional sports," Wittgren wrote. "It's happened to 90% of players I know and basically after every bad outing a player has."

Thankfully, most Indians fans responded with outrage at the threats, and Wittgren thanked them for their support and "kind messages." Still, the initial harsh words obviously took a toll on both him and his wife Ashley, who also took to social media to express her displeasure.

Sadly, this is not the first time an Indians player has dealt with online hate this season. Following an error that led to a loss in Chicago back in April, utility man Yu Chang was bombarded with several racist messages which manager Terry Francona publicly ripped as "lunacy" and "idiocy."

"Errors are part of the game, but ignorance and racism? They shouldn't be anywhere," Francona said. "Those comments, they have nothing to do with baseball. ... It's just an excuse for somebody to be stupid and ignorant."

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