A bench-clearing melee that began with shortstop Tim Anderson of the White Sox and third baseman José Ramírez of the Guardians exchanging punches at second base in the sixth inning, led to six ejections during Chicago’s 7-4 victory over Cleveland on Saturday night.
Guardians closer Emmanuel Clase, manager Terry Francona and third base coach Mike Sarbaugh, and White Sox manager Pedro Grifol also were tossed for their actions during a 15-minute brawl that included three additional flare-ups.
The altercation started when Ramírez slid headfirst into second with an RBI double and Anderson stood over him. When Ramírez got up, he pointed his finger in Anderson’s face and yelled, prompting them to square off.
“I think he’s been disrespecting the game for a while,” said Ramírez, who laid Anderson out with a right hook after the first punch was thrown by the Chicago shortstop. “I was telling him to stop doing that. After he tapped me really hard, more than needed, he said he wanted to fight, and I had to defend myself.”
Anderson, who left the ballpark before the clubhouse was opened to reporters, charged out of the dugout several minutes after being ejected, prompting teammate Andrew Vaughn to physically carry him to the clubhouse steps.
White Sox manager Pedro Grifol declined to talk about the fight, saying, “I’m going to let MLB figure this out. They’ve got some work to do. Thank God I haven’t heard any news out of the training room about injuries.”
Elvis Andrus hit a two-run jack and Vaughn, Luis Robert Jr. and Óscar Colás each had a solo shot off Guardians starter Noah Syndergaard (1-5), who allowed a career-high four home runs in his first outing at Progressive Field.
“We know Timmy, that’s why we love him and are always going to support him and have his back,” said Andrus, who had three hits and two stolen bases. “He plays with passion and gives 100% in the field. Stuff like this helps teams get united.”
Sarbaugh was tossed for aggressively moving toward Chicago’s coaching staff, while the blue-haired Clase had to be escorted back to the bullpen by teammate Josh Naylor, who is on the IL.
White Sox right-hander Michael Kopech (5-10) carried a no-hit bid into the sixth inning and exited after allowing two runs in 5 1/3 innings. He improved to 2-1 with a 1.78 ERA in five career starts against the Guardians.
Anderson and Ramírez are likely facing suspensions, and possibly other participants in the fight as well.
Chicago is 24 games under .500, but the Guardians (54-57) are only 3 1/2 games behind the first-place Minnesota Twins in the AL Central.
“We’re not going to be bullied by a team that’s playing under .500,” Kopech said. “Obviously, in divisional baseball, you have to see a lot of each other. There has been a lot of mouthing off between the teams the last few series.”
Syndergaard, acquired from the Los Angeles Dodgers in a July 26 trade for Amed Rosario, worked six innings and gave up five runs, all on homers. Will Brennan had two hits and drove in two runs for the Guardians.
“Before everything started, I know Anderson was yelling at (first baseman Gabriel) Arias and the umpire told him to knock it off,” Francona said. “Then, things got away from everybody.”
