“Sometimes when you get balls that close, sometimes you’ve got to say, ‘The hell with it, I’m exhausted of watching it, ‘ things like that….” There were multiple instances of pitchers from both sides throwing inside, which culminated in the benches clearing when Toronto’s Aaron Sanchez plunked Kansas City’s Alcides Escobar in the eighth inning. In hindsight – knowing how Volquez felt about Donaldson pimping – it seems entirely possible that the hit by pitch was intentional. However, they shouldn’t be surprised when Edison Volquez comes inside on a guy like Josh Donaldson if the Royals felt Toronto was stealing signs. “He was crying like a baby”. “Jim Wolf, I have a lot of respect for him behind the plate”.

Cut to the third inning and Volquez came up and in with a pitch that drove Donaldson out of the box. Donaldson yelled at Wolf, as did manager John Gibbons, who earned an ejection.

In the bottom of the seventh, Troy Tulowitzki was hit on the elbow by reliever Ryan Madson. Donaldson and Volquez had to be restrained after Sanchez was ejected for hitting Escobar. Gibbons and Colabello, who’d just been replaced for defense, both ran out to join the scrum. He didn’t like that Royals pitchers threw at Blue Jays’ players’ necks several times. The Twins took two of three from Toronto in May and have won six of eight against them dating back to last season.

The sellout crowd of 45,736 jeered Wolf after the umpires had cleared the field.

“I don’t think he made a lot of the right decisions today”, Donaldson said of Wolf, who declined to speak with to a pool reporter following the game.

Royals manager Ned Yost defended his team’s approach and was also complimentary of the officiating crew, specifically the decision to eject Sanchez.

The four-game weekend series-taken by Toronto 3-1-did feel a little bit like the playoffs. “I don’t know why”.

Cardinals 3, Rockies 2: Brandon Moss had his first big hit with St. Louis, a game-ending single in the ninth. He has not allowed a home run over his last four starts, something he hasn’t done since his Cy Young Award season in 2012.

Jul 23, 2015; Detroit, MI, USA; Detroit Tigers starting pitcher David Price (14) pitches in the first inning against the Seattle Mariners at Comerica Park. Paulsen finished with two hits and three RBIs in Colorado’s first win at Busch Stadium since May 12, 2013, snapping a string of five straight losses at St. Louis. He also posted victories over the New York Yankees and Minnesota in that run, from August 26 to September 2, 2013.

Kansas City and Toronto do not meet again during the regular season. That pulled the Jays within a game behind the reeling Twins in the race for the second wild card. Edwin Encarnacion led off with a single and Colabello followed with a drive to left, his 10th. The Royals trailed by two runs at the time, and there already was a runner on base when Tulowitzki got clipped.

Volquez’s words came after a series finale overrun with tension.