Sano, Boyd ejected as benches clear

MINNEAPOLIS — Twins slugger Miguel Sano punched Tigers catcher James McCann in the mask Saturday during a bench-clearing scrap in the fifth inning of the Tigers’ 5-4 victory.

Two innings after Tigers outfielder JaCoby Jones was hit in the face by a pitch, Tigers starter Matthew Boyd threw behind Sano, who pointed his bat toward Boyd and yelled toward the mound. McCann intervened and appeared to put his mitt in the face of Sano, who reacted immediately with a right hand.

Plenty of pushing and shoving ensued near the plate as both benches and bullpens emptied, but no other punches appeared to be thrown. Sano and Boyd were ejected.

Jones took a 90-mph fastball from Twins reliever Justin Haley to the face in the third. Jones jumped to his feet and ran up the third-base line in the direction of the dugout, where he was met by a trainer and manager Brad Ausmus.

The trainer put a towel to Jones’ bleeding mouth, and the outfielder walked into the dugout and toward the clubhouse under his own power.

Nicholas Castellanos and Justin Upton hit solo home runs for the Tigers, who used five relievers after Boyd was tossed. Blaine Hardy won in relief, and Francisco Rodriguez earned his sixth save in eight chances.

Both starting pitchers struggled with their control, and the teams combined to use 13 relievers. Twins lefty Adalberto Mejia struck out six and walked three in 22⁄3 innings. Boyd walked three batters in the first two innings before settling down to retire eight of the next nine Twins.

That streak, and Boyd’s day, came to an end when he threw behind Sano, likely in retaliation for Haley nailing Jones.