CLEVELAND — White Sox shortstop Tim Anderson and Guardians third baseman Jose Ramirez went toe-to-toe in a dukes-up boxing match near second base Saturday, and both players were ejected after their fisticuffs sparked a benches-clearing brawl at Progressive Field.
In the Sox’ 7-4 victory, which halted a five-game losing streak, Ramirez and Anderson were the main event. The infielders got tangled up at second after Ramirez slid in safely with a double in the sixth inning, and Ramirez pushed at Anderson’s leg from the ground as the shortstop straddled him.
When Ramirez got up, he pointed a finger close to Anderson’s cap. Anderson, much like a hockey fighter, then dropped his glove and put up his fists. Ramirez also raised his fists, and the two exchanged glancing blows before Ramirez decked Anderson with a right hook.
‘‘I felt I was able to land one,’’ Ramirez said through a translator.
Second-base umpire Malachi Moore initially got between them but then backed away, letting the pair square off and setting off an intense scrum involving players and coaches from both teams.
Sox manager Pedro Grifol and Guardians manager Terry Francona also got into a heated exchange, and both were ejected. Guardians third-base coach Mike Sarbaugh and closer Emmanuel Clase were tossed, too.
Anderson and Ramirez face likely suspensions.
‘‘I’m not going to comment on it,’’ said Grifol, who with Sarbaugh appeared to raise their hands to each other in the midst of a second flurry. ‘‘I’m going to let MLB figure it out, do their investigation and watch the video. They have some work to do.’’
Anderson was unavailable after the game, but Grifol said he wasn’t hurt in the fight.
Tension had been building between the American League Central foes in their last two series.
‘‘In division baseball you see a lot of each other, and there has been a lot of mouthing,’’ said Sox starter Michael Kopech (5-10), who took a no-hitter into the sixth. ‘‘We’re not playing our best baseball right now. We’re also not going to get bullied by a team that’s playing under .500. Tempers flared, and things happen.’’
‘‘Before it started, I know Anderson was yelling at [Guardians first baseman Gabriel] Arias, and the umpire told him to knock it off,’’ said Francona, who was ejected for the third time against the Sox this season.
Sox first baseman Andrew Vaughn put Anderson in a bear hug to restrain him and escorted him to the dugout. Right-hander Touki Toussaint, catcher Yasmani Grandal, infielder Elvis Andrus and coach Daryl Boston restrained Anderson, too.
‘‘I didn’t appreciate that Anderson, once he had 11 [or] 12 guys between them, that’s when he started [again],’’ Francona said. ‘‘I said something to him, and that’s what their manager was yelling about.’’
Anderson tried to get back on the field, and Vaughn had to hold him back again.
‘‘He’s been disrespecting the game for a while,’’ Ramirez said. ‘‘When he does something like that on the bases, he can get somebody out of the game. So I was telling him to stop doing that. After he tapped me really hard, more than needed, he said he wanted to fight, and I had to defend myself.’’
Play was stopped for 14 minutes.
Luis Robert Jr., Vaughn, Oscar Colas and Andrus homered against Guardians starter Noah Syndergaard. Robert’s home run was his 30th of the season.
Personnel matters
The Sox claimed right-hander Brent Honeywell off waivers from the Padres and selected the contract of 6-9 right-hander Lane Ramsey from Triple-A Charlotte. They also put right-hander Gregory Santos on the bereavement list.
