Benches clear in Baltimore when tempers flare after HBP

BALTIMORE -- A hit-by-pitch in the bottom of the seventh inning at Camden Yards on Sunday afternoon led to some heated exchanges during the Orioles’ 8-2 win over the Royals.

Baltimore third baseman Blaze Alexander was hit in the left hand by a 95.5 mph four-seam fastball from Kansas City right-hander Lucas Erceg. Alexander was visibly not pleased, and as he started to make his way down the first-base line, the 27-year-old was talking to Erceg. The hit-by-pitch came after Erceg had allowed a home run to the previous batter (Samuel Basallo), and Alexander was the third Orioles hitter to get plunked on the day.

“From a fan perspective, you can probably see that. But I’m out there trying to get outs, not trying to hit guys,” Erceg said. “I know a couple of guys on the Orioles, and they’re good people. Don’t need to tarnish your reputation by going out and hitting guys.”

From there, though, things escalated a bit. Both benches cleared, while Alexander continued to voice his displeasure. He was held back by O’s manager Craig Albernaz, and then bench coach Donnie Ecker escorted Alexander to the team’s first-base dugout.

Alexander was replaced at first base by pinch-runner Coby Mayo. The Orioles later announced that Alexander suffered a non-displaced fracture in his left hand.

The bullpens emptied as well, but by the time the relievers reached the infield, the situation had dissipated. Nobody was ejected following the dust-up.

It seemed as if Alexander felt Erceg quick-pitched him and was not happy about it, though Erceg said that is often how he pitches.

“Like I was telling him after I hit him, no ill intent there. Was just trying to pitch. I quick-pitch to a lot of guys, especially with two-strike counts,” Erceg said. “So I mean, I lost it a little bit up and in.”

What was said between the two on the field?

“I just said, ‘Brother, I’m just pitching out here.’ I don’t know what he said. The crowd started going nuts,” Erceg said. “But yeah, no, I was just telling him I’m trying to pitch. I’ve got like a 5-something ERA. I’m not going out there to hit guys and put guys on and this and that.”

Alexander was not made available to talk with the media because he exited the game due to injury. And on the Orioles’ side, their focus was on the loss of one of their best hitters, who will now be sidelined for at least a decent period of time.

“Definitely a gut punch,” Albernaz said.

From the Royals’ perspective, they felt there weren’t too many people upset when everybody spilled onto the field, which is why the situation was resolved in a short amount of time. There was some chatter, but nothing got even close to out of hand.

However, Kansas City players also felt for Alexander getting hit in the moment.

“To be honest, that’s a guy who’s hitting over. 300 and is feeling good about himself that feels the need, when he gets hit, that he can say something. So, credit to him for feeling good about himself like that,” Royals slugger Vinnie Pasquantino said. “But he’s clearly not -- it’s a 1-2 count. We’re trying to get outs. We’re not trying to give away free baserunners. I think that’s a bad baseball mindset, personally, because why would we hit a guy right there? It’s just common sense. But he feels good about what he’s doing right now, and credit to him, he’s been having a really good year. That was my perspective on it. ...

“Both teams were like, ‘What? This is stupid.’ There was one person angry there. The rest of the guys were like, ‘Ugh, that sucks.’ That’s it.”