SEATTLE -- Dee Gordon asked all media to clear out of the clubhouse during normally open hours prior to Tuesday's 5-3 loss to the Orioles at Safeco Field.
What followed was a skirmish between several Mariners players. Some players were fighting and yelling while others came to make peace in the hallway between the clubhouse and manager Scott Servais' office. The dogpile briefly pushed the recently closed doors ajar, where a handful of players could be seen -- some standing and some on the ground.
The cause of the incident is unclear.
Servais addressed the media following the incident.
"Things happen in a clubhouse," Servais said. "You're talking about 25 -- or now in this case, now 35 -- of the most competitive guys you're ever gonna be around, and you spend basically every waking moment together all the time."
Seattle is still in the playoff push, trailing Oakland by 5 1/2 games for the second spot in the American League Wild Card, but the Mariners once led the Athletics by as many as many as 10 games in the same race.
"Certainly with how our season has played out, we just haven't been consistent," Servais said. "And the frustration mounts from a number of different places."
Citing his own 11-year career in the Majors, Servais said these sorts of incidents occur "a lot more than you would think" and that he experienced them as a player about once per season.
"Sometimes it'll bring teams together," Servais said. "Sometimes certain things hit a boiling point and you gotta get something off your chest and you go from there."
Servais said that as a manager his job is to listen to his players and talk through the incident and start to rebuild relationships, adding that there is usually a root to issues that can be found.
"The thing is, you need to be professional and we'll get ready to play the game tonight," Servais said. "It's unfortunate, but it's something that happens as part of the game. You have very competitive people that want to win."