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Royals, Jays involved in ugly feud
Sunday in Toronto, the Royals and Blue Jays engaged in a game of back-and-forth retaliation to the point it spilled onto social media. Josh Donaldson was the first target, getting drilled with a pitch from Edinson Volquez in the first inning; it was at this point umpire Jim Wolf issued out warnings. Then in the seventh, Ryan Madson hit Troy Tulowitzki and brushed back Donaldson with a pitch up and in. Not until the eighth did Wolf finally eject someone when he tossed Aaron Sanchez for targeting Alcides Escobar in the eighth. Following the game, Volquez referred to Donaldson as "a little baby", and Yordano Ventura sent out a series of tweets in Spanish (which he later deleted) calling Jose Bautista a "nobody" and accused him of stealing signs. Sanchez was slapped with a three-game suspension; Jays manager John Gibbons was also ejected and was given a one-game suspension.
Comments from both managers after the game:
Bautista took issue with Ned Yost's comments, posting his opinion on Twitter:
Just heard #NedYost comments about the game. Lost a lot of respect for that man today.
— Jose Bautista (@JoeyBats19) August 2, 2015
Mike Hessman sets minor-league home run record
Who here remembers when Mike Hessman played for the Braves? He couldn't quite stick as a major-leaguer, playing in just 109 games over five seasons. He debuted with the Braves in 2003 and hit 14 home runs with three different teams, but on Monday broke a 79-year record with his 433rd home run in the minors, a grand slam. Crash Davis would be proud.
Dombrowski out as Tigers GM
In a bit of a shocking move, the Tigers released GM Dave Dombrowski from his contract on Tuesday. The Tigers were sellers at the deadline with their playoff hopes dwindling, so even though Dombrowski's contract was up at season's end, owner Mike Ilitch decided to let him out early and promote Al Avila to GM and Executive VP of Baseball Relations. Dombrowski had served 14 years as GM of the Tigers.
Giants place Mike Leake on the DL
Mike Leake has made only one start with his new team before landing on the DL with a strained hammy. Leake was acquired last Thursday from the Reds for infielder Adam Duvall and pitcher Keury Mella.