Now this is how you brawl!
The Toronro Blue Jays and Texas Rangers have some slow-marinating beef from last fall’s American League Division Series, when Jose Bautista bat-flipped his way into Texas villainy. It took seven games this season for things to really bubble over, but boy did they ever on Sunday. It all began in the eighth inning, when the Rangers’ Matt Bush hit Batista with a pitch. Two batters later, Justin Smoak grounded to third in what looked like an inning-ending double play, before Bautista went barreling into second, getting a piece of second-baseman Rougned Odor’s leg with a hard slide.
Odor did not like that.
“[I was] pretty surprised, and obviously that’s the only reason he got me,” Bautista told MLB.com of Odor’s punch. “He got me pretty good, so I have to give him that. But it takes a little bit of a bigger man, I guess, to knock me down.”
I guess he had to save face somehow.