After their last meeting in the playoffs, it is no surprise that there is still some bad blood between the Toronto Blue Jays and the Texas Rangers. In the last game of a three-game series, tensions finally boiled over after Rangers pitcher Matt Bush hit Blue Jays slugger Jose Bautista with a pitch during his last at-bat of the game. Bautista was a major spark in the hatred between these two teams after hitting a home run and showboating with the most epic bat flip in recent baseball history.
After realizing that emotion was running high, the umpire warned both benches after Bautista was hit. Bautista ran to second base and tried to break up a double play, sliding by Rangers second baseman Rougned Odor who did not appreciate the hard slide. The two, clearly fueled by some pent-up emotion, got into it and punches started flying. Odor actually landed a good hit on Bautista, punching him right in the face. Immediately both benches cleared and players from both teams were on the field. After ten minutes, umpires were able to finally control the chaos after throwing out both Bautista and Odor as well as Blue Jays third baseman Josh Donaldson and Rangers bench coach Steve Buechele.
It did not take long before things got out of hand once again. Toronto relief pitcher Jesse Chavez hit Rangers slugger Prince Fielder with the first pitch after the brawl ended. Chavez and Blue Jays DeMarlo Hale were both ejected. Rangers got the last laugh, winning the game 7-6, but it is very clear that things are not over between these two teams. After the game, Blue Jays pitcher Marcus Stroman tweeted,
Zero respect for Odor. Never had respect for him, never will.
— Marcus Stroman (@STR0) May 15, 2016
Stroman was not in attendance for the game as he graduated from Duke University today.
