Orioles vs Athletics Manny Machado Ejected for throwing bat

For the second time in three days, an angry Manny Machado caused the benches to clear between the Orioles and Athletics. On Friday, tempers flared due to a rough tag by Athletics third baseman Josh Donaldson. After dodging a pitch thrown inside by A's reliever Fernando Abad in the eighth inning on Sunday, the 21-year-old let go of his bat on a swing and miss and appeared to toss it all the way down the third baseline. The bat landed in the outfield as Machado and the A's started jawing at each other. Both benches quickly spilled out onto the field, but no punches were thrown. The umpires deliberated and decided to eject both Machado and Abad. Following Oakland's blowout win, Machado insisted that it was an accident and the bat "slipped right out" of his hands, the Baltimore Sun reported. Crew chief Larry Vanover thought otherwise and explained after the game that both Abad's inside pitch and Machado's bat throw were intentional. Even Orioles broadcaster Gary Thorne thought Machado meant to throw his bat but wanted to toss it toward the mound. "The bat slipped out of my hands,'' Machado said. "Trying to make contact and the umpire thought it was intentional and he tossed me at that point. The umpire thought it was intentional, so I guess at that point you've got to toss the pitcher and the hitter at the same time.'' On Friday, Machado didn't like the force of the tag by Oakland third baseman Josh Donaldson and the two had to be separated. After the game, Orioles manager Buck Showalter matter-of-factly noted that he probably could have appealed that Machado did not swing at the pitch until after it had crossed the plate.