ARLINGTON -- The bad blood that has been building for months between the Blue Jays and Rangers spilled over into an ugly benches-clearing fracas in Texas' 7-6 victory at Globe Life Park on Sunday afternoon.
The tensions began to rise when Jose Bautista was struck by a pitch from right-hander Matt Bush in the top of the eighth inning. Bautista exchanged words with Bush and the Rangers' dugout as he took first base, but the game continued uninterrupted.
That changed two batters later, when Justin Smoak hit a grounder to third baseman Adrian Beltre, who then tried to get a forceout at second base.