The visiting Chicago White Sox and Cleveland Guardians will try to put aside their bad blood when they meet in the rubber match of their three-game series on Sunday.
Both teams engaged in a wild, bench-clearing brawl on Saturday night, resulting in the ejection of three players, both managers and a third-base coach.
Cleveland third baseman Jose Ramirez slid head-first into second base and between the legs of Chicago shortstop Tim Anderson after delivering an RBI double in the sixth inning.
Both players exchanged words before punches were thrown, the last of which knocked Anderson on his back.
“I think he’s been disrespecting the game for a while,” Ramirez said through an interpreter. “As soon as the play happened, he tagged me again really hard, more than needed. His reaction was that he wanted to fight. I had to defend myself.”
Cleveland manager Terry Francona said he also noticed Anderson trying to irritate his players the past two games, particularly young first baseman Gabriel Arias.
“I did know that there were some things going on between Anderson and Gabby that our guys didn’t appreciate,” Francona said.
White Sox manager Pedro Grifol said, “I’m going to let MLB figure this out, they’ve got some work to do.”
Anderson was not made available to the media after the game, though Grifol said he was not injured in the fight.
White Sox infielder Elvis Andrus said the team fully supports Anderson.
“We love Timmy,” he said. “He plays with passion and gives 100 percent on the field. Stuff like this happens.”
The White Sox led 5-1 at the time thanks to four home runs and held on for a 7-4 victory, ending a five-game losing streak.
Jesse Scholtens, a 29-year-old rookie right-hander, is scheduled to start the series finale for the White Sox.
Just three of his 17 appearances this season have come as a starter.
Scholtens (1-4, 3.07 ERA) went six innings in his most recent appearance on Tuesday. He held the American League West-leading Texas Rangers to one run and three hits with six strikeouts and one walk, but took the loss in the 2-0 defeat.
Scholtens retired the first nine batters he faced before allowing a single to Marcus Semien to begin the fourth inning.
“Any time somebody steps on the field they have the opportunity to prove to everyone in baseball that they belong at this level,” Grifol said. “He’s done a really good job of that.”
Scholtens threw five innings of relief against the Guardians on May 22 and took the loss after surrendering just one run and two hits.
He earned a hold against Cleveland in his last relief appearance on July 29 after throwing a scoreless sixth inning in a 7-2 win.
Cleveland plans to start Xzavion Curry, who has also been used predominantly in a relief role this season, making 25 of his 28 appearances out of the bullpen.
Curry made his last start on July 28, holding the White Sox to one run and two hits in three innings, but the Guardians did not provide any run support, and he took the loss in the 3-0 defeat.
Curry has made four appearances (one start) against the White Sox in his career and is 0-1 with a 2.45 ERA.
–Field Level Media
