The series finale between the Chicago Cubs and St. Louis Cardinals ended in fireworks Thursday afternoon.

And former Cubs catcher Willson Contreras was at the center of it all.

Contreras and Cubs closer Daniel Palencia shared a heated exchange after the final out, as the North Siders put the finishing touches on a 3-0 victory to salvage a series split.

This is the first meeting between the two teams this season, but the Cubs and Cardinals have been rivals for decades and we’ve seen brouhahas like these over the years.

In this case, Contreras apparently took umbrage with Palencia throwing inside in the ninth inning of a close game.

Catch the entire video of the sequence on the Marquee Sports Network app.

On for the save, Palencia allowed a double to lead off the bottom of the ninth. He then hit Contreras on a 1-2 pitch, a 100 mph fastball that grazed the fiery backstop.

Contreras was visibly angry after being hit and shouted in Palencia’s direction.

Palencia said he wasn’t trying to yell toward Contreras; he was simply celebrating the win in the big moment.

“It was high intensity,” Palencia told reporters in St. Louis after the game. “I was very hyped. That’s part of the game. Nothing was intentional. I don’t want to hit that guy. I’ve been watching that guy since I was a kid. I feel proud for him, what he’s doing for the game. The moment was intense, close game. I think it was just that.”

Palencia and Contreras both hail from Venezuela and though they both came up in the Cubs organization, they never spent time in the big leagues together. Palencia’s MLB debut came in 2023, which was Contreras’ first year in St. Louis.

For his part, Contreras apologized to the Cubs in speaking with the media, saying “My reaction was bad. I apologize to the Chicago Cubs for the way I reacted. … I don’t want to fight them.”

There would be zero reason for Palencia to hit Contreras on purpose in that situation, to bring the tying run to the plate with nobody out. And it would seem even less likely to see Palencia intentionally plunk somebody in a 1-2 count in the same situation.

After the initial interaction, Palencia locked in and struck out the next three batters to pick up his eighth save of the season.

After Palencia struck out Cardinals infielder Nolan Gorman to end the game, he turned toward Contreras at first before celebrating and shouting. That led to both teams spilling onto the field for a brief time but it did not escalate further.