Royals 3, White Sox 2 (13 innings): Tensions boil over with brawl

It's been 15 days since the White Sox and Royals last met, but it could've been a continuation of the season-opening series for the most part.

The Royals continued to win, and the friction between the two clubs only increased.

The only real differences -- the game was in Chicago, and the Royals aren't on the sympathetic side this time around.

A 13th-inning double by Eric Hosmer scored Jarrod Dyson from first to score the winning run, but everybody will be talking about what happened six innings before. With two outs, Adam Eaton hit a comebacker to Yordano Ventura. Ventura gloved it, then engaged in a staring contest before shouting an expletive at Eaton and throwing to first.

After the out was recorded, Eaton turned to Ventura, and the benches cleared. Amid all the shoving, Jeff Samardzija and Chris Sale were ejected for the Sox, and Ventura, Edison Volzquez and Lorenzo Cain on the Royals' side. Best I can tell, Sale and Cain were agitators, Samardzija charged Cain and ended up running over third base coach Mike Jirschele, and Volquez took a swing at Samardzija.

Eaton may have taken umbrage with Ventura quick-pitching him, but it's Volquez's third straight start with an extracurricular incident, and the second with an ejection. He jawed at Mike Trout two starts prior, and plunked Brett Lawrie on purpose his last time out.

The Sox had their chances afterward, but Avisail Garcia and Conor Gillaspie struck out with runners on the corners in the eighth, and Garcia grounded out with two in scoring position in the 10th. Those missed opportunities hurt, because Ned Yost didn't call for Wade Davis until the Royals scored in the 13th. Garcia kept the game alive with a two-out single, but Gordon Beckham flied out to center to end it.

Before the brawl, it was an ordinary pitchers' duel. The Royals did what they usually do to Sale -- put the bat on the ball for a lot of hits (nine, with just two strikeouts), but not a lot of runs (two). They scored both runs on a Kendrys Morales single in the first, but Sale kept them in check after and allowed the offense to get back in the game.

They almost didn't score the first one in the fourth. Jose Abreu got caught between third and home on a bouncer to first and one out, but he extended the play long enough for Garcia to take his place at third. Garcia then scored on an Alexei Ramirez single to make it a 2-1 game.

An inning later, Abreu did the hitting instead of the running, following Melky Cabrera's double with one of his own to tie it up.

Bullet points:

*Perhaps adding to the tension, Sale hit Mike Moustakas in the mouth with either a changeup or a slider that slipped (85 mph) in the fifth inning, one inning after Ventura plunked Abreu with a 98-mph fastball. Both were with two strikes, so it's hard to call either intentional. Sale and Abreu were almost hit with broken bats, too. Weird night.

*Ramirez put on a clinic at short, snagging a liner and flipping to second for an inning-ending double play in the seventh, and barehanding a Sal Perez chopper in the 12th.

*Before Jake Petricka cracked in the 13th, White Sox pitching held the Royals scoreless for 11 consecutive innings. So, it's hard to blame him or them.

Record: 6-9 | Box score | Play-by-play | Highlights