ANAHEIM -- Benches briefly cleared after the Angels' Zach Neto and Mike Trout were hit by pitches from Rangers reliever Shawn Armstrong in the eighth inning on Tuesday.
With Gustavo Campero on third and one out with the Angels 7-5, Neto was hit by a 2-2 fastball from Armstrong and just two pitches later, Trout was hit on the hand on a similar 92-mph fastball. Interim manager Ray Montgomery was upset, yelling at the Rangers’ dugout as he walked near home plate. He said after the 8-5 Angels' win that he was just asking the Rangers to clean things up, as it was the fourth hit batter of the night. Trout was the fourth Angel hit by a pitch in the game.
“We know these guys so well,” Montgomery said. “I don't think the intent was anything more than obviously guys getting hit. But in the same breath, you get four hit-by-pitches, you hit our second baseman, our shortstop, and then Mike. The only thing I said was, ‘How many times are you going to hit a guy?’ I wasn't insinuating that they were intentional."
Rangers manager Bruce Bochy said he didn’t hear what exactly Montgomery was saying, but he didn’t take kindly to his actions.
“I just heard the yelling and that was enough,” Bochy said, adding that hitting guys intentionally was the last thing they were trying to do. "I brought [Armstrong] in to keep them from scoring a run. But I guess we hit somebody and it’s intentional, but when they hit [Corey] Seager it’s not. I just thought that was enough.”
Both benches cleared. The bullpens also cleared with relievers from both teams running in from left field.
“It’s understandable,” said Rangers catcher Kyle Higashioka. “We’re obviously not trying to hit them, but you can see their side, too. They have every right to be pissed about it. For me, it’s just part of the game.”
Trout, who said the pitch hit the padding on his hand, said he was pleased to see his manager stick up for him and his teammates.
“The boys loved it,” Trout said. “Just sticking up for his players, sticking up for his guys. It’s fun to see.”
But nothing ultimately came of the kerfuffle and no one was ejected. Nolan Schanuel gave the Angels an insurance run with a sacrifice fly against Armstrong before Taylor Ward struck out to end the inning.
Angels closer Kenley Jansen never stopped warming up in the bullpen and came in for the ninth inning to pick up his 20th save in 21 chances this year. It marked his 13th season with at least 20 saves.
“Somebody had to close the ballgame,” Jansen said with a smile. “So I wasn’t going to let that get me out of my game. I prefer to stay on the mound and stay focused to help this team win.