ANAHEIM, Calif. -- When the Angels made a late decision Sunday to go with little-used reliever Andrew Wantz as their opener on the mound, the Mariners suspected they might be about to get payback for a fastball that got awfully close to Mike Trout's head the previous night.
The Halos insist that wasn't their intent -- and yet Wantz threw a pitch behind Julio Rodriguez's head in the first inning and then hit Jesse Winker in the hip to start the second.
A wild, angry brawl ensued, resulting in the ejections of six players and both managers. The fracas will be remembered by both teams a whole lot longer than the Angels' 2-1 victory over Seattle.
"That probably shouldn't happen in the game, what happened out there today," Seattle Manager Scott Servais said. "Emotions running high, but it was pretty clear what was going on."
Both teams threw numerous punches in the melee that began when Winker charged the Angels' emptying dugout after yelling at Angels Manager Phil Nevin.
"Look, you play eight games in a matter of a week against the same team, things like this happen," Nevin said after LA's eighth game in 11 days against Seattle. "The scheduling, tensions, that's baseball sometimes, unfortunately. There's some ugly incidents once in a while."
The game was delayed about 18 minutes by the four minutes of mayhem. Along with both managers, the Angels lost Wantz, closer Raisel Iglesias and reliever Ryan Tepera, while the Mariners lost Winker, Rodriguez and J.P. Crawford -- three of the first four hitters in their lineup.
"My only comment is it's classless," Seattle starter Marco Gonzales said. "To throw at Julio, who's a kid, over something that happened last night when we were trying to win a ballgame in the ninth inning (and not) put the tying run on base, it's just classless to come out and change your pitcher before the game. The intention is clear."
Wantz's pitch behind Rodriguez certainly appeared to be a response to Erik Swanson's 95 mph fastball near Trout's head in the ninth inning Saturday night, a throw that infuriated the three-time AL MVP. Wantz insisted that wasn't the case.
"I was pretty amped up for my first start, and the first one just got away from me," Wantz said. "It was sweaty. I was sweating. First day game I've pitched in (in the majors), and that's that. Second one to Winker was a cut fastball inside and (I) just yanked it. That's all I've got to say."
Umpires issued warnings to both dugouts after Wantz's pitch behind Rodriguez, but Winker and the Angels set it off an inning later, with both benches and bullpens emptying. Servais and Gonzales both felt the umpires erred by not ejecting Wantz immediately.
"I'm not aware of the incident with Trout from last night," crew chief Adrian Johnson told a pool reporter. "You're talking about the pitch that went over his head. That was nothing for us to issue warnings today."
Injured Angels star Anthony Rendon threw an open left hand to Winker's face during the scuffle, notable because his right hand is in a cast: The Halos' $245 million third baseman is already out for the year for the second consecutive season.
When Winker finally left the field, he made obscene gestures with both hands at the jeering Angels fans behind Seattle's dugout.
"The only thing I'm going to apologize for is flipping the fans off," Winker said. "That's it. As fans, they're spending their hard-earned money to come watch us play a game, and they didn't deserve that, so I apologize to the fans, especially the women and children."
After the field cleared, Iglesias returned a few moments later to throw large containers of sunflower seeds and gum onto the infield while screaming at the umpires, infuriated by his ejection.
ATHLETICS 5, ROYALS 3 Seth Brown hit his 10th home run of the season and Nick Allen hit a go-ahead two-run single off Brady Singer (3-3) as Oakland defeated Kansas City.
RED SOX 8, GUARDIANS 3 Trevor Story drove in two runs to reach 500 career RBI, Rafael Devers and J.D. Martinez each had three hits and Boston finished a three-game sweep of Cleveland.
WHITE SOX 4, ORIOLES 3 Dylan Cease (6-3) struck out a career-high 13 and allowed four hits over seven innings, Gavin Sheets hit a two-run homer in the second against Jordan Lyles (4-7) and Chicago avoided a four-game sweep by Baltimore.
YANKEES 6, ASTROS 3 (10) Aaron Judge drove a three-run home run in the 10th inning for his second walk-off hit against the Astros in four days, and New York recovered after nearly being no-hit for the second consecutive game to beat Houston.
NATIONAL LEAGUE
CUBS 6, CARDINALS 5 Willson Contreras hit a tiebreaking single in the 10th off Zack Thompson (1-1) to drive in his third run of the game, and Chicago overcame a 5-0 deficit to defeat St. Louis.
MARLINS 3, METS 2 Rookie Nick Fortes homered off Adam Ottavino (2-2) with two outs in the ninth, helping Miami avoided a three-game sweep by New York.
PHILLIES 8, PADRES 5 Kyle Schwarber hit a go-ahead, three-run home run in the seventh off Nabil Crismatt (4-1) as Philadelphia rallied from a 5-2 deficit to defeat San Diego.
REDS 10, GIANTS 3 Tyler Mahle (3-6) struck out seven in 6 2/3 innings as Cincinnati defeated San Francisco.
DODGERS 5, BRAVES 3 (11) Chris Taylor went 3 for 3, including a tie-breaking double in the 11th inning, to lift Los Angeles over Atlanta. Atlanta led 2-0 with two outs in the ninth when Trayce Thompson singled to shallow right field.
INTERLEAGUE
BREWERS 10, BLUE JAYS 3 Rowdy Tellez hit a pair of two-run home runs against his former team, going deep in the first and second innings off off Jose Berrios (5-4), and Milwaukee took two of three.
DIAMONDBACKS 11, TIGERS 7 Daulton Varsho hit a three-run home run, Pavin Smith had a career-high four hits with three RBI and Arizona defeated Detroit. Former University of Arkansas pitcher Dallas Keuchel made his debut for Arizona after signing a minor league contract on June 6. He gave up four runs and six hits in 4 1/3 innings while striking out seven and walking three.
NATIONALS 6, RANGERS 4 Jackson Tetreault (2-1) allowed one run in six-plus innings in his third major league start and Josh Bell had his second three-hit game of the weekend as Washington defeated Texas.
RAYS 4, PIRATES 2 Shane McClanahan (8-3) struck out 10 over seven innings, allowing one run and four hits in Tampa Bay's victory over Pittsburgh. He lowered his major league-leading ERA to 1.77 ERA and grabbed the big league lead in strikeouts with 123.
TWINS 6, ROCKIES 3 Byron Buxton had three hits, including an RBI triple for the second consecutive game, and Minnesota defeated Colorado.
Several members of the Seattle Mariners and the Los Angeles Angels scuffle after Mariners' Jesse Winker was hit by a pitch during the second inning of a baseball game Sunday, June 26, 2022, in Anaheim, Calif. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)
Several members of the Seattle Mariners and the Los Angeles Angels scuffle after Mariners' Jesse Winker was hit by a pitch during the second inning of a baseball game Sunday, June 26, 2022, in Anaheim, Calif. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)
Los Angeles Angels' Raisel Iglesias, second from left, yells at first base umpire Rob Drake after a brawl broke out between members of the Angels and the Seattle Mariners during the second inning of a baseball game Sunday, June 26, 2022, in Anaheim, Calif. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)
Seattle Mariners' Jesse Winker, right, and Justin Upton jaw with fans after a brawl between members of the Mariners and the Los Angeles Angels during the second inning of a baseball game Sunday, June 26, 2022, in Anaheim, Calif. The fight started after Winker was hit by a pitch. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)
Seattle Mariners' Jesse Winker (27) gets set to fight with Los Angeles Angels Anthony Rendon after he was hit by a pitch and went after players in the Angels dugout during the second inning of a baseball game Sunday, June 26, 2022, in Anaheim, Calif. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)
Seattle Mariners' Julio Rodriguez (44) is held back as Los Angeles Angels' Shohei Ohtani, center, watches while several members of the Mariners and the Angels scuffle after Mariners' Jesse Winker was hit by a pitch during the second inning of a baseball game Sunday, June 26, 2022, in Anaheim, Calif. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)
Seattle Mariners' Julio Rodriguez (44) is held back as Los Angeles Angels' Shohei Ohtani (17) watches while several members of the Mariners and the Angels scuffle after Mariners' Jesse Winker was hit by a pitch during the second inning of a baseball game Sunday, June 26, 2022, in Anaheim, Calif. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)
Seattle Mariners' Julio Rodriguez (44) is held back as Los Angeles Angels' Shohei Ohtani (17), right, watches while several members of the Mariners and the Angels scuffle after Mariners' Jesse Winker was hit by a pitch during the second inning of a baseball game Sunday, June 26, 2022, in Anaheim, Calif. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)