
TORONTO — There was compelling theatre offered Saturday at the Rogers Center, at least more so than a 9-3 ballgame might suggest.
However, A’s reliever Liam Hendriks went out of his way to say he wasn’t intentionally throwing at former teammate Josh Donaldson in the sixth inning.
Was Donaldson buying it? Maybe, maybe not.
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But the former Athletic didn’t hide the fact that he was irked by the Hendriks fastball that drilled him in the left leg in the sixth. It was clear in his body language immediately afterward, the emotion he displayed throughout the rest of the game, and in his postgame comments to a large group of reporters.
“Liam and I, we had a good year last year,” Donaldson said of his ex-Blue Jays teammate. “I don’t know if it was intentional or not. That’s not my judgement. I took my base. I don’t like being hit. It does piss me off a little bit, I’m not gonna lie.”
Hendricks, who’s posted a 9.72 ERA through six appearances in his first season with Oakland, definitely wasn’t fanning any flames of controversy afterward. He said he was trying to pitch inside to the 2015 AL MVP and missed his location.
“It was just trying not to get him extended. I tried to run it in and ran it in too far,” Hendriks said. “… There was definitely no intention against Donaldson. I played with him last year. A great teammate, great guy. Just a ball that slipped out and managed to get him pretty square.”
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Still, it wasn’t a surprise to see what happened the next inning, when Blue Jays starter J.A. Happ hit Khris Davis in the ribs with his first pitch in the top of the seventh. Home plate umpire Chris Conroy warned both benches.
“I don’t know,” was Happ’s only reply when asked if he meant to plunk Davis.
A’s manager Bob Melvin declined any comment postgame on the extracurricular activity.
[RECAP: Instant Replay: Blue Jays batter Bassitt, hand A's first road loss]
It adds just another layer to the intrigue that will exist every time Donaldson takes the field against the team that shipped him off in a November 2014 trade that still gets discussed and dissected. One of Donaldson’s biggest strengths always has been the ability to stoke his own competitive fire. He gets up for playing the A’s, even though he said Friday he’ll always think back fondly of his time in Oakland.
Clearly, his sixth-inning beaning didn’t sit well. He glared in Hendriks’ direction briefly while heading to first. “I do that most of the time when I get hit,” he said. Then Donaldson broke for second base on a steal attempt immediately afterward, though the pitch was fouled off. He raised his hand in the air following his eighth-inning RBI single as he ran to first, then did a little celebratory spin after he threw out Coco Crisp for the game’s final out. Surely the A’s noticed both.
But afterward, he spoke respectfully of the A’s.
“I enjoy playing against them,” Donaldson said. “That being said, you can tell they’re playing with confidence right now. They’re swinging the bats well, getting some pretty nice pitching up and down the bullpen. Sonny (Gray) did a great job yesterday. We were able to get on (Chris) Bassitt pretty early (Saturday) and keep it going.”
While Donaldson hit a three-run homer off Bassitt and drove in four runs, Troy Tulowitzki victimized the A’s for two homers. But, as Gray pointed out after the A’s win Friday, Toronto’s lineup is more than just a superstar-driven operation.
Leadoff hitter Ezequiel Carrera was a thorn in Oakland’s side all game, recording his first career four-hit game, scoring two runs and making a diving catch in left field in the ninth that drew a standing ovation.
Perhaps there’s no carry-over from Saturday’s events. Hendriks threw cold water on things with his comments. The Blue Jays seemingly got their payback when Happ hit Davis. But doesn’t it seem inevitable that Donaldson will somehow factor into Sunday’s storyline too?
It’s only fitting when these teams play each other, regardless of what the scoreboard reads.