Royals players, fans angered after Bobby Witt Jr. hit by pitch with chance to hit for cycle
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Bobby Witt Jr.’s spectacular display of hitting continued on Monday in their win against the Arizona Diamondbacks.
It was fourth straight game with three straight hits and he had hit a double, triple and home run all before the 5th inning, making him just a single shy of hitting for the cycle.
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Witt got his first opportunity to accomplish the feat in the bottom of the 6th inning, or so he thought.
Diamondback’s reliever Humberto Castellanos hit Witt on the the elbow on a pitch nowhere near the strike zone, drawing the ire of many Royals players and chorus of boos from the fans at Kauffman Stadium that continued for a majority of the inning.
Royals catcher Salvador Perez was irate, screaming at Castellanos from in front of the dugout.
The hostility carried over into the next inning as Royals reliever John Schreiber retaliated by hitting Diamondbacks catcher Gabriel Moreno with a pitch.
That is when the game started to get chippy.
The umpires then stopped the game to give both teams a warning and Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo left the dugout, exchanging words with home plate umpire Jordan Baker and Perez.
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Baker ejected Lovullo from the game.
Witt had one more opportunity to hit for the cycle, but flew out to right field in the bottom of the 8th. He received a standing ovation.
The Royals ended up winning the game, 10-4, their fourth straight win. They will try to secure the series victory Tuesday at 7:10 p.m. when Alec Marsh (7-6) takes the mound vs. Jordan Montgomery (6-5).
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