A potential bench-clearing confrontation was narrowly avoided Sunday in Cleveland, with the grounds crew hustling onto the field to pull out the tarp just before a 30-minute rain delay.
Tensions spiked in the sixth inning between the Guardians and visiting Arizona Diamondbacks after left fielder Tim Tawa attempted to bunt while Cleveland starter Gavin Williams was still chasing a perfect game.
Tawa failed to put the bunt in play, fouling it back, but Cleveland’s dugout was visibly irritated. Moments later, the second-year Diamondback ended Williams’ bid for perfection with a single to right field.
In baseball’s unwritten code, trying to bunt for a hit during a perfect-game bid is often viewed as poor form, especially with the batting team down by five runs, as Arizona was at the time.
As the tarp was brought out with two outs in the sixth, Guardians manager Stephen Vogt and third-base coach Rouglas Odor came out of the dugout and exchanged heated words with Diamondbacks players and coaches. Both benches cleared, but the situation settled within a couple of minutes as the grounds crew covered the infield.
After Arizona’s loss, Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo stood by Tawa and defended his decision at the plate.
Umpire Jonathan Parra (30) restrains Cleveland Guardians manager Stephen Vogt during the tense exchange
A Cleveland player voices his frustration toward Diamondbacks outfielder Tim Tawa after the failed bunt attempt
The Arizona Diamondbacks’ Ildemaro Vargas reacts to Guardians manager Stephen Vogt
‘Not even close for me,’ Lovullo said after Cleveland’s 5-0 win over Arizona. ‘I’ve had this discussion with Stephen Vogt before when he was in our dugout as a player. I play it clean and you can do basically anything in between the white lines for six innings. And then after that, you got to be careful. It’s either black or white for me. I don’t like gray stuff.
‘Timmy asked if he could bunt. We all checked off on it, said absolutely. And they clearly took exception to that.’
Williams had retired the first 15 Arizona batters he faced, including nine via strikeout.
Tawa took a called strike on the first pitch before fouling back a bunt attempt on the next pitch. After Tawa’s bunt hit the screen behind home plate, Cleveland catcher Patrick Bailey and shortstop Brayan Rocchio voiced their displeasure over Tawa’s decision.
Tawa then lined the next pitch into right field to give the Diamondbacks’ first baserunner. Rocchio and Tawa exchanged words after Tawa was forced out at second base on a grounder by Ildemaro Vargas. However, Tawa’s hard slide caused Rocchio’s throw to first base for a potential double play go wide.
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The teams didn’t come to blows, in part, because they were cleared out by the grounds crew
Brayan Rocchio did not hesitate to show his displeasure with Tim Tawa over the bunt attempt
The chirping between both teams continued though and reached a breaking point with two outs in the sixth, when both benches emptied after crew chief Lance Barksdale called for the grounds crew to put the tarp on due to heavy rain.
Vogt and Odor charged from the dugout and began exchanging words with Diamondbacks players and coaches. The benches emptied for both teams, but calm was restored a couple minutes later as Vogt and Lovullo talked at home plate.
‘I mean, when things happen on the baseball field, tempers can flare sometimes. I was upset just because there were people talking to our players that shouldn’t be,’ Vogt said. ‘When there’s a perfect game going, some people are going to be very upset at that. But again, that wasn’t the crux of my frustration.’
Also adding to the mayhem was the grounds crew trying to get the infield covered.
‘I’ve never had a tarp involved in a scrum with another team. It’s a first for me,’ Lovullo said. ‘Through some hard lessons and suspensions and fines, I’ve learned the hard way to deescalate instead of amplify it. And in that case, I felt like that was my job. And I think Vogter and I got together and talked about it. And he saw it the same way I did.’
Williams allowed one hit in 5 2/3 innings with 10 strikeouts and one walk. The right-hander joined Chris Sale and Clayton Kershaw as the only pitchers in MLB history with double-digit strikeouts and one walk or fewer in at least five straight games.
Also adding to the mayhem was the grounds crew trying to get the infield covered
As for Tawa’s bunt attempt, it was the least of his worries.
‘I don’t really have any reaction. It is what it is. I don’t really care. My job is to get outs and that’s what I’m trying to do,’ Williams said.
Tawa was in an 0-for-21 skid before getting the hit and said he was trying to do anything he could to snap out of it.
‘I understand the unwritten rules of baseball and that’s a thing. And at the same time, I’m just trying to get on base and help the team and gain some momentum,’ he said.
Both teams were issued warnings about any retaliation after the hour, 34-minute rain delay. Tawa struck out in the seventh and reached on a fielder’s choice in the ninth.
