Jake Peavy pointed to the mound after getting pulled in the midst of a sixth-inning jam, and he and catcher A.J. Pierzynski had words in the tunnel leading to the Chicago White Sox's clubhouse after the inning ended.

Peavy was pulled after giving up a single to Jeff Baker that enabled the Cubs to cut the Sox's lead to 4-3. Baker's hit was the third consecutive hit allowed by Peavy, who was pulled after 104 pitches.

Peavy was about halfway off the mound when he pointed in the direction of the mound, where Pierzynski and several of his teammates were standing.

After the inning ended, the two had words in the dugout and headed up the tunnel. Pierzynski returned to the Sox's dugout with two out in the bottom of the sixth.

After the Sox's 4-3 win, Pierzynski and Peavy joked about and downplayed the incident, although manager Ozzie Guillen thought that a disagreement over a pitch might have caused the spat.

“We’ll we were talking about Alabama vs. Florida," said Pierzynski, a rabid Gators fan. "He has bragging rights because Alabama beat them the last couple times. That’s about it.

"We’re fine. I love Jake Peavy. He’s a great competitor, and in the heat of the moment, things happen. And it wasn’t a big deal. I guess it was caught on camera. But it wasn’t a big deal. We were just talking about Tide vs. Gators, and he has the bragging rights.”

Peavy joked that the spat stemmed from a hunting issue and added that he loved Pierzynski's competitiveness.

"Like I said, boys will be boys," Peavy said. "We are going to say stuff to each other at times that may not sit well with the other. Talk through it and get it straight. Like I said, I love A.J. Pierzynski to death. He competes his rear end off and has for many years. He won a World Series here. I would like to do that again with him."

Guillen saw some humor in the incident, and he didn't believe any tension would carry over.

"When I looked down, the (incident) was over," Guillen said. "Cubs-Sox game, we don’t have a Zambrano meltdown, we have to make something happen.

"I always say when two white guys fight, the foreigners stay away from that."

mgonzales@tribune.com Twitter @mdgonzales