Benches clear, four ejected in White Sox, Royals game

White Sox shortstop Tim Anderson, Royals pitcher Brad Keller, Sox manager Rick Renteria and Royals coach Dale Sveum were ejected following a bench clearing incident during the sixth inning  Wednesday afternoon at Guaranteed Rate Field.

Keller hit Anderson on the buttocks with his first of the inning, an apparent retaliation to Anderson’s bat flip celebration of his home run in the fourth inning. Anderson, who gave the Sox a 2-0 lead with the blast, made an overhand toss of the bat in the direction of the Sox dugout.

Keller and other Royals players gave stares to Anderson as he rounded the bases, and when Anderson came up to bat two innings later, he got hit with the pitch.

Both benches and dugouts emptied and players and Renteria had to be separated from each other but there were no punches thrown. After order was restored, crew chief Joe West made the ejections.

Anderson angered the Royals’ Sal Perez last April in Kansas City when he reacted with enthusiasm to a home run.

“I led off the game with a home run and got excited,” Anderson said then. “They didn’t like it, but it’s not about them, it’s about my teammates. I play the game with a lot of energy and confidence. I’m not going to change.”

The Royals took a 3-2 lead in the seventh against righty Jose Ruiz on Hunter Dozier’s two-out RBI single to left.