Tempers flare all weekend in A’s-Royals series

The Kansas City Royals infamously advanced to the ALDS last season by coming back from four runs down to the beat the Oakland Athletics in the AL Wild Card Game. Apparently some of the intensity from that game spilled over to this season, because the series between the Royals and A’s over the weekend got really crazy.

It all started on Friday when A’s third baseman Brett Lawrie slid hard into Royals shortstop Alcides Escobar, injuring Escobar’s knee and causing the benches to clear. The next day, Royals ace Yordano Ventura beaned Lawrie after Josh Reddick hit a home run, earning Ventura an ejection while both dugouts and bullpens cleared.

Then on Sunday, the benches cleared for the third straight game when hard-throwing Royals reliever Kelvin Herrera rocketed a 100 mph fastball behind Lawrie. Herrera, Escobar and Royals bench coach Don Wakamatsu were all ejected because of the incident, and Herrera pointed at his head as he left the field. Lawrie didn’t appreciate that gesture much, and A’s closer Sean Doolittle called Herrera out on Twitter:

https://twitter.com/whatwouldDOOdo/status/589894452690427905

Herrera claimed he wasn’t trying to throw at Lawrie, saying he was just trying to throw inside and the pitch got away from him. That’s a likely story.

Adding to the fireworks on Sunday was Royals manager Ned Yost and pitching coach Dave Eiland getting tossed after outfielder Lorenzo Cain was hit by a pitch from Scott Kazmir in the first inning. Both teams were issued a warning, but Yost came out to argue and was immediately tossed by plate umpire Greg Gibson.

Peter G. Aiken/USA TODAY Sports

As for the actual play on the field, the Royals came away with another comeback victory over the A’s, winning 4-2 after scoring three runs in the eighth inning thanks to a Kendrys Morales two-run double. Kansas City took two out of three in the series to move its record to a stellar 9-3. That 9-3 record is good for second-best in the AL, a game behind the Detroit Tigers. The Royals have a run differential of +28, which is the second-best in the majors, also behind Detroit.

The A’s fell to 6-7 with the loss on Sunday, falling a half-game behind the first-place Houston Astros in the AL West. But while Oakland is 6-7, they do have a solid run differential of +24, which is third-best in the majors behind Detroit and Kansas City.

The Royals and A’s will only play three more times in the regular season, and it’ll be interesting to see what happens when they get together again in late June. And who knows? Maybe these two will once again play in the postseason when the games REALLY matter.