Oct 13, 2008 11:30 AM EST

Speaking through an interpreter, Hiroki Kuroda made a telling remark about Sunday's fracas after he sailed a pitch over the head of Shane Victorino.

?I felt the tension,? he said, adding that he did not understand what Victorino was saying to him. ?But when I go on the mound, I?m a different person. I become passionate about the game.?

Via New York Times