The Royals are involved in yet more drama. Last Sunday, the Royals and Athletics had a benches-clearing argument as a beanball war ensued following Brett Lawrie’s ill-advised slide into Alcides Escobar, causing a minor injury on April 17. Yordano Ventura started on the 18th against the Athletics and exacted revenge on behalf of Escobar, throwing a fastball at Lawrie after he had given up five runs to the Athletics in the fourth inning.
Ventura and the Royals were at it again Thursday night, this time against the White Sox. The Royals entered the game having been hit by pitches 16 times, second-most in baseball behind the Rangers, five ahead of the Red Sox and Pirates in a tie for third place.
In the bottom of the fourth inning, White Sox first baseman Jose Abreu was hit by a 99 MPH Ventura fastball, the sixth pitch in a 2-2 count with no outs. In the top of the fifth, with two outs and the bases empty and an 0-2 count, Chris Sale hit Mike Moustakas with an 86 MPH change-up, the fourth pitch of the at-bat. If Sale were trying to get retribution, it seems odd he’d pick a change-up in an 0-2 count as his opportunity to do so.
Ventura, finishing out the seventh inning, got Adam Eaton to tap into a 1-3 putout. It was a sharp comebacker, but easily handled by Ventura. Rather than simply toss the ball to first base and jog off in silence, Ventura took the opportunity to bark at Eaton, then tossed the ball to first base for the final out of the frame. Eaton was not happy with Ventura’s choice of words. Both benches and bullpens quickly cleared. There was some yelling and shoving for a while. Lorenzo Cain began yelling at Jeff Samardzija, so Samardzija closed in but he was tackled. Someone took a swing at him, but it thankfully did not connect. The blobs of blue and black continued pushing and shoving but the situation was ultimately defused after several minutes.
Five players were ejected: Ventura (obviously), Edinson Volquez, Cain, Sale, and Samardzija. There are certainly going to be fines and suspensions handed down after this one.
Here’s what major leaguer Brett Anderson had to say about Ventura’s behavior:Dial it down Yordano Ventura...dial it down, several notches.
— Brett Anderson (@BrettAnderson35) April 24, 2015
And here’s an interesting bit of trivia:
Yordano has made 4 starts to start the season has yet to get pulled for manager reasons.
— Kevin Payne (@KCPayne26) April 24, 2015
Update: Getcha popcorn ready. Here’s video.
[mlbvideo id="86661883" width="600" height="336" /]