Bobby Witt Jr. came to the plate in the sixth inning needing just a single to complete the cycle after tripling, doubling, and homering in his first three at-bats. But instead of getting a chance for the single, he got hit by a pitch. That ended his cycle bid and set off some tension. Royals catcher Salvador Perez was visibly upset and voiced his frustration. Later, a D-backs batter was also hit by a pitch, which fueled more speculation about intent. The umpires gathered and issued warnings to both benches.
D-backs manager Torey Lovullo got tossed after a heated exchange where he insisted he would never instruct his players to intentionally hit someone, especially a rising star like Witt Jr. As he was being ejected, he asked for Perez to come over to relay that message directly, claiming he had no issue with Perez and admired him as a player. Things got more animated when Perez remembered he had been hit in a past game and accused the D-backs of targeting him. Emotions ran high in the dugouts and bullpens but no physical fights broke out.
It was a messy scene sparked by what should’ve been a simple hit-by-pitch. Instead, it turned into a string of ejections, accusations, and dugout jawing. Witt Jr. lost his shot at the cycle, and both teams left with bad blood.