Banister: Bush didn’t hit Bautista intentionally

OAKLAND — The overwhelming public perception is that the Rangers deliberately threw at Blue Jays outfielder Jose Bautista and that’s what set in motion the eighth-inning events from Sunday’s game.

Bautista appeared to retaliate by sliding hard into Rangers second baseman Rougned Odor on a force play and the situation escalated from there. The two squared off, Odor pushed and then punched Bautista and the two teams spilled out onto the field.

Banister intimated after Sunday’s game Rangers pitcher Matt Bush was not trying to throw at Bautista and reiterated that on Monday in Oakland. Bush, leading off the eighth inning, hit Bautista while trying to protect a 7-6 lead.

“It’s about winning ballgames,” Banister said. “People think what they want to think, whatever we say or don’t say. There’s no swaying of opinion. I’m not going to sway anybody’s opinion. Things happen, it got out of hand, it got ugly, it’s unfortunate. It’s not what we wanted.

“We are in the business of winning ballgames. We had a one-run lead. We had blown a few leads lately with a shaky bullpen. Why would we put ourselves that situation? That’s the part I don’t understand. We would be just as happy moving on and winning a baseball game.”

The Rangers will likely hear on Tuesday if Odor or anybody else is suspended as a result of the altercation. If the suspension is more than 2-3 …

continue reading in source mlb.mlb.com