Yordano Ventura appeared to throw at Manny Machado intentionally Tuesday, brushing him back twice before hitting him in the ribs with a 99 mph fastball that prompted Machado to charge the mound, fists flying, and spark a bench-clearing melee.
It turns out that Machado wasn’t the only hitter Ventura wanted to plunk. Within the Kansas City Royals‘ clubhouse, the right-hander was talking about his plans to hit Jose Bautista with a pitch the next time he faced the Toronto Blue Jays slugger, according to Yahoo’s Jeff Passan.
Ventura’s teammates responded to his bravado by rolling their eyes, according to Passan, who reports that Royals players and executives have “long waited for Ventura to grow up,” only to be disappointed.
Bautista already played a prominent role in the most-discussed baseball brawl of the year. Last month, when the Blue Jays were visiting the Texas Rangers, Matt Bush plunked Bautista, who slid illegally into second base and got punched in the face by Rougned Odor.
The Royals and Blue Jays have history, having played in the 2015 ALCS, which Kansas City won in six games. The clubs played an intense series last summer right after the Blue Jays acquired Troy Tulowitzki and David Price at their surprisingly busy 2015 trade deadline.
The Royals visit Toronto July 4-6.
