KANSAS CITY, Mo. — In a startling scene, Cleveland Indians pitcher Trevor Bauer suddenly heaved the ball from just past the mound over the center-field wall while being taken out of the game Sunday in a 9-6 loss to the Kansas City Royals.
“I’m an intense competitor and that fire is what drives me,” Bauer said. “Today it completely consumed me and took over. I just wanted to say I’m sorry for how I behaved. It won’t happen again.”
It wasn’t clear whether Bauer was upset with his performance or that Manager Terry Francona was pulling him. An All-Star last year, Bauer (9-8) had just allowed a two-run single to Nicky Lopez that gave the Royals a 7-5 lead with one out in the fifth inning.
When Francona emerged from the dugout, Bauer turned, took a couple steps and fired the ball over the 410-foot mark.
“Nothing really broke my way,” Bauer said. “Even when I felt like I executed good pitches, they were capped off the end of the bat. So the frustration built up.
“Right now I’m just focused on the negative impact I’ve had on our culture, and our team and organization, and trying to make reparations to the people in this clubhouse and in our organization. We’ll handle whatever else comes down the line from there.”
Shortstop Francisco Lindor incredulously watched while second baseman Mike Freeman flinched as Bauer wound up. Rookie center fielder Oscar Mercado had his back turned and was looking at the wall when he saw the ball land, and quickly spun around, trying to figure out what happened. As Francona reached the mound, he and Bauer appeared to exchange words. Francona pointed Bauer toward the dugout, then followed closely behind him. They both disappeared into the tunnel. They later emerged, separate but both fuming.
“That’s just between us,” Francona said about what he told Bauer. “We certainly discussed it, as we should, and he talked to the team. Today was a frustrating day. He did it out of frustration. I don’t ever want to say something that I don’t mean out of frustration.”
RAYS 10, BLUE JAYS 9: Joey Wendle drove in the tiebreaking run with a bases-loaded groundout in the ninth inning and Tampa Bay rallied from a seven-run deficit at Toronto.
TWINS 11, WHITE SOX 1: Miguel Sano hit a three-run homer in a five-run first inning, and Minnesota won at Chicago to strengthen its hold on the AL Central.
Jorge Polanco, Jonathan Schoop and Max Kepler also connected as Minnesota ran its major league-leading total to 205 home runs.
MARINERS 3, TIGERS 2: J.P. Crawford hit a walkoff single with one out in the 10th inning and Seattle won at home to extend its winning streak to five games.
ANGELS 5, ORIOLES 4: Matt Thaiss hit his second home run of the game in the bottom of the ninth inning to lift Los Angeles at Anaheim, California.
ATHLETICS 6, RANGERS 5: Marcus Semien homered, then scored the winning run on a bases-loaded walk in the bottom of the ninth inning as Oakland won at home.
NATIONAL LEAGUE
MARLINS 5, DIAMONDBACKS 1: Rookie outfielder Harold Ramirez homered, hit a line drive that scored the tiebreaking run and made consecutive catches against the fence to help Miami win at home.
METS 8, PIRATES 7: Michael Conforto hit a two-run homer in a six-run first inning against Chris Archer, and New York held on at home to match its longest winning streak this season at four games.
PHILLIES 9, BRAVES 4: J.T. Realmuto hit a grand slam, three other Phillies went deep and Philadelphia won at home to avoid a three-game sweep.
REDS 3, ROCKIES 2: Tucker Barnhart hit a tiebreaking single in the sixth inning and Cincinnati won at home.
NATIONALS 11, DODGERS 4: Stephen Strasburg tossed seven masterful innings to win his seventh consecutive start, leading Washington at home.
CUBS 11, BREWERS 4: Kyle Schwarber hit a grand slam and a three-run homer to power Chicago at Milwaukee, averting a three-game sweep in a matchup of NL Central contenders.
GIANTS 7, PADRES 6: Madison Bumgarner won his final start before the trade deadline and rookie Mike Yastrzemski had four hits and two RBI, and scored the go-ahead run to lead San Francisco at San Diego.
INTERLEAGUE
ASTROS 6, CARDINALS 2: George Springer led off the game with a home run, Jose Altuve and rookie Yordan Alvarez also connected, and Houston won at St. Louis.
Copy the Story LinkSend questions/comments to the editors.
Success. Please wait for the page to reload. If the page does not reload within 5 seconds, please refresh the page.
Enter your email and password to access comments.
Hi, to comment on stories you must . This profile is in addition to your subscription and website login.
Already have a commenting profile? .
Invalid username/password.
Please check your email to confirm and complete your registration.
Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.
Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.