Associated Press

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Yankees third baseman Jazz Chisholm Jr. accused the Royals’ Maikel Garcia of intentionally trying to injure Anthony Volpe when he hit New York in Game 4 of a tense AL Division Series won with a 3, slipped to second base -1 win on Thursday night.

Garcia had led off the sixth inning with a single and Michael Massey followed with a chopper to first base, where Jon Berti caught the ball and stepped on the bag. Then he shot at Volpe, who was covering the second baseman, and Garcia slid hard into the base – and Volpe also had a tough day against the Kansas City third baseman.

The atmosphere immediately heated up and both teams stormed onto the field, although no punches were thrown or thrown.

“I just felt like he was trying to hurt Volpe because he was a sore loser. You know what I mean?” Chisholm said. “He talked a lot on Instagram and Twitter and stuff. I do the same thing, but I’m not going to hurt anyone if they win a game. I didn’t like that. I did him said we’re not going to do that on this side and I’m going to stand up for my boys.”

Chisholm had already become the series’ villain when he said Kansas City was “lucky” to win Game 2 in New York. He was reminded of the commentary with every shot and received a steady stream of boos from a crowd starved for season ball.

The Yankees jokingly booed him during a postgame celebration in the visiting clubhouse Thursday night, looking forward to a matchup with the Guardians or Tigers, with Game 1 of the AL Championship Series scheduled for Monday night at Yankee Stadium.

The Yankees and Royals have developed a dislike for each other over the years, long before this playoff matchup. In fact, the fear can be traced back to the 1970s, when players like George Brett of the Royals and Graig Nettles of the Yankees got into fistfights during games that often decided who would represent the American League in the World Series.

It looked much as it did when the benches emptied on Thursday evening. Chisholm chirped at the Royals again as he ran into the middle of the scrimmage, and Yankees starter Gerrit Cole – who allowed a single run over seven innings of precise pitching – had to be restrained as tensions ran high at Kauffman Stadium.

“I held my feelings in all night,” Cole admitted, “and let them out on the way to the dugout.”

It took Aaron Judge, among others, to keep the teams from coming to blows, then they met near second base. And while order was restored and play soon resumed, there was an underlying tension for the rest of the game.

“I have no idea (what happened). Honestly,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said. “It was like we were out there, and then it was that time again, we were at the end of a playoff game. That’s why I haven’t even let the dust settle and spoken to those involved.”

When asked what he thought happened, Royals manager Matt Quatraro said matter-of-factly: “Volpe had the ball, blocked the sack, Maikel probably didn’t care that much and it got a little uneasy.”

That’s what happens in postseason baseball, especially when the Yankees and Royals are involved.

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AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/MLB