BALTIMORE — The benches cleared quickly, and then relievers came running in from the bullpens.
Why it all happened remains a mystery.
That sixth-inning altercation between the Baltimore Orioles and Milwaukee Brewers didn’t escalate into any real fighting, and the two main participants — and their managers — wouldn’t say much about what triggered the near-fracas.
The closest thing to an explanation came from Milwaukee’s Willy Adames, who was about to bat when he went face to face with Orioles catcher James McCann. Then players from both teams rushed the field.
“It was something stupid, pardon my word,” Adames said. “I guess he was a little frustrated.”
Milwaukee led 9-1 at the time and had hit three home runs, including one by Adames an inning earlier. Adames said McCann was “saying some stuff” when he got to the plate, but it wasn’t about the homer.
“Some stuff happened in the game and some people misunderstand,” Adames said. “And that’s what happens I guess.”
McCann was every bit as vague.
“Something happened on the field. We took care of it,” McCann said.
“It wasn’t between me and Adames,” McCann also said. “Something else was going on.”
Don’t look to the managers to provide any insight either. Baltimore’s Brandon Hyde said he was keeping the incident “in house” and Milwaukee’s Pat Murphy was content to do the same.
“I have no idea,” Murphy said. “That kind of stuff, I don’t want to talk about.”
Milwaukee went on to win 11-1. The Orioles and Brewers play twice more this weekend.