DUNEDIN, FLA.—Jose Bautista says Canada broke baseball’s unwritten code Saturday by trying to run up the score in their World Baseball Classic victory over Mexico, regardless of the tournament’s tiebreaker rules.

“I’m not buying the fact that teams are bunting when they’re up by six because of the rules of the WBC,” Bautista told reporters Sunday morning before the Blue Jays’ 3-0 loss to the New York Yankees at Florida Auto Exchange Stadium.

“I believe in the unwritten rules of the game. They should be respected. It’s a code amongst players and everybody who plays baseball at a level higher than Little League knows what it is and there’s no excuse.”

In the ninth inning of Canada’s 10-3 victory over Mexico — they were up 9-3 at the time — Canadian catcher Chris Robinson, of London, Ont., bunted himself aboard leading off the final frame.

Mexican pitcher Arnold Leon then hit the next batter, Toronto’s Rene Tosoni. Benches cleared and a violent brawl ensued.

Robinson and Canadian manager Ernie Whitt defended their transgression of baseball etiquette by pointing out the importance of run differential — the difference between runs scored for and against — in the tournament’s tie-breaking rules.

In fact, Canada failed to advance from the first round in the 2006 edition of the tournament due to losing a run-differential tiebreaker.

Jays manager John Gibbons sided with the Canadian squad.

“The run differential matters,” he said. “Everybody knows that, so it shouldn’t really surprise anybody. If that determines whether you move on or not, I’m sure the other side would have probably done the same thing, I would think.”

Even still, Bautista felt Robinson’s bunt was “uncalled for,” though he understands how tempers flared on both sides.

“It is competitive and there’s a lot more on the line than just personal success,” he said. “You’re playing for your country and it’s a short tournament and people play with a lot of passion so emotions are high. That sort of stuff can happen.”

Canada lost to Team USA 9-4 on Sunday in a do-or-die matchup. The U.S. now advances to the second round with Italy, Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic, while Canada is eliminated.

Bautista’s rooting interest, the Dominican Republic, defeated Spain 6-3 on Saturday to advance.

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