Benches clear as Donaldson, Perkins exchange words

MINNEAPOLIS -- Tension ran deep in an emotionally-charged, 11-inning A's win over the Twins at Target Field on Wednesday, as the benches cleared at the end of Oakland's half of the 10th.

With Glen Perkins on the mound for Minnesota, the A's Josh Donaldson launched a 2-1 pitch deep to left field but just left of the foul pole. The third baseman swung through the next pitch to strike out, and that's when drama ensued.

Perkins appeared to take issue with Donaldson's admiring of the near-homer, and Donaldson wasn't about to just walk away when the lefty began heckling him. So he approached the pitcher, and the benches emptied -- albeit without much fracas.

"The dude struck me out, pretty good pitch, I flipped my bat and I hear him barking at me," said Donaldson. "I look up and he says something, points his finger.

"With that being said, I don't feel like I disrespected him at all. I'm out there trying to win a game for our team and he's trying to win a game for his team. I don't know what it was all about. I've never even spoken to the guy."

"There's no disrespect to him," said Perkins, "but things happen. We both could've handled the situation differently so we'll leave it at that. I talked to him, and then as I was walking away, he yelled, and then the benches cleared. I turned around, and was going to walk in, and Joe [Mauer] grabbed me, and said, 'Let's go.' So I don't think it got too rowdy."

It was over before the clubs' relievers could make it to the infield from the bullpen, and both sides were issued a warning.

"If you say something to JD," said A's manager Bob Melvin, "you're probably going to get a response."