Send in the clowns? LeBron’s a yes, Martinez a no

PHOENIX (AP) — LeBron James liked the clown nose. Dave Martinez wasn’t as big of a fan.

Sorry skip, it appears Washington Nationals outfielder Victor Robles is siding with the NBA superstar on this one.

Robles was caught by cameras in the dugout Sunday wearing a clown nose, a day after Arizona pitcher Madison Bumgarner called him a “clown” for briefly admiring his eighth-inning homer in Washington’s 7-2 loss.

James posted the picture of Robles wearing the clown nose on his Instagram story with the caption “Something I would do for sure!” Robles posted James’ reply on his own Instagram story.

Nationals manager Martinez wasn’t as thrilled with Robles’ light-hearted jab after Washington’s 4-3 win Sunday.

“I didn’t see it. I heard about it,” Martinez said. “I’ll talk to him. That’s not who we are. It happened, it’s done, I don’t want to see that kind of stuff.”

The incident started Saturday when Bumgarner took exception to Robles admiring a solo shot that brought the Nationals to 7-2.

“Clown,” Bumgarner said. “No shame. It’s 7-1, you hit your third homer of the year and you act like Barry Bonds breaking a record. Clean it up. I don’t care about giving up the run. Hell, we won 7-2 or 8-2, whatever it was. It’s frustrating.

“I’m the old, grumpy guy. I know. But that type of stuff didn’t used to happen.”

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