The Blue Jays and Royals don’t seem to be very big fans of each other. Royals starter Edinson Volquez made a habit out of pitching inside to Blue Jays third baseman Josh Donaldson, including when he hit him with a pitch in the third inning. That led to retaliation later in the game, and an eventual benches-clearing incident.
Royals reliever Ryan Madson pitched inside to shortstop Troy Tulowitzki and Donaldson in the seventh inning, which escalated matters before Blue Jays reliever Aaron Sanchez hit shortstop Alcides Escobar in the bottom half of the frame.
After the game, Royals manager Ned Yost stated that his pitchers weren’t throwing at batters intentionally, and went out of his way to praise home plate umpire Jim Wolf. Via John Lott of the National Post:#Royals manager Ned Yost, pleading innocent and loving Jim Wolf … #BlueJays pic.twitter.com/jzaB8VLgtd
— John Lott (@LottOnBaseball) August 2, 2015
Blue Jays outfielder Jose Bautista responded to Yost’s comments on Twitter, saying he "[l]ost a lot of respect for that man today.”
Jays starter R.A. Dickey, who pitched seven scoreless innings and earned a win on Sunday, likened the Royals to kids on a playground when a bigger kid shows up.
Dickey on Royals: “When they come onto the playground & there’s a kid that’s bigger than they are for a day ... it probably pisses them off”
— Stephen Whyno (@SWhyno) August 2, 2015