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VIDEO: Benches clear as tempers boil over between Royals, Blue Jays

Tom Szczerbowski / Getty Images Sport / Getty

A testy series finale Sunday between the Toronto Blue Jays and Kansas City Royals culminated in the eighth inning when benches cleared at Rogers Centre following a number of unfriendly exchanges.

The acrimony manifested early Sunday afternoon when Edinson Volquez plunked Josh Donaldson with a pitch in the first inning, prompting an unfriendly glare from the All-Star third baseman as he headed for first base. Home plate umpire Jim Wolf quickly issued warnings to prevent the situation from escalating.

Two innings later, however, Volquez brushed Donaldson off the plate with an 85-mph offering that narrowly missed his head, compelling Blue Jays manager John Gibbons to voice his displeasure to Wolf.

After Troy Tulowitzki was hit in the right forearm by an errant pitch from reliever Ryan Madson in the bottom of the seventh and Donaldson was brushed back a second time in the following at-bat, the Blue Jays opted to retaliate.

In the top of the eighth, his team clinging to a 3-0 lead, reliever Aaron Sanchez struck Alcides Escobar with a two-out fastball, resulting in an ejection for the 22-year-old while also causing the benches to clear.

(Courtesy: MLB.com)

"He's a little baby. He was crying like a baby," Volquez said about Donaldson postgame. "He's not Barry Bonds. He's got three years in the league."

Blue Jays starting pitcher R.A. Dickey noted the Royals are building quite the reputation for bench-clearing incidents this season.

"I think they're used to pushing people around," Dickey said. "So when they come onto the playground and there's a kid that is bigger than they are for a day, I think it probably pisses them off. And I can't blame 'em. That's part of their swagger. That's part of what makes them good."

Royals manager Ned Yost didn't have an issue with the umpiring in the heated contest.

"None of them were intentional on our part," Yost said. "It's part of the game ... I thought Jim Wolf did a tremendous job understanding the game, understanding what's intentional. Was it intentional on their part to hit (Escobar)? Absolutely. They miss him with the first one then came back and hit him again with the second one. I think Jim Wolf did a great job of understanding what was intentional and what wasn't."

The Jays hung on to win 5-2.

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