Kansas City Royals righthander Yordano Ventura was ejected after hitting Oakland Athletics third baseman Brett Lawrie with a pitch on Saturday, one day after Lawrie's controversial slide into Royals shortstop Alcides Escobar.

Kansas City Royals righthander Yordano Ventura was ejected after hitting Oakland Athletics third baseman Brett Lawrie with a pitch on Saturday, one day after Lawrie's controversial slide into Royals shortstop Alcides Escobar at Kauffman Stadium.

Escobar sustained a mild sprain to his left knee when Lawrie slid into his leg during a play at second base in the seventh inning of Friday's game. Both benches emptied, but there were no ejections. Royals manager Ned Yost said Escobar is expected to be out "just a couple of days hopefully."

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On Saturday, Ventura hit Lawrie during an at-bat in the fourth inning, with the A's leading 5–0 and Lawrie facing a 1–0 count with one out and nobody on base.

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Home plate umpire Jim Joyce ejected Ventura immediately after the pitch. Both benches and bullpens slowly cleared, but the incident did not escalate further.

Ventura allowed five runs on four hits in 3 1/3 innings, allowing a three-run home run to the A's Josh Reddick in the fourth inning.

- Mike Fiammetta