Bench-Clearing Incident Mars Tigers’ 6-2 Victory

Retaliation and reputation were the buzz words Saturday after the Cleveland Indians and Detroit Tigers engaged in a one-inning beanball war at Jacobs Field.

Players, coaches and the managers for both teams all offered theories as to what prompted a bench-clearing incident in the sixth inning that came after Manny Ramirez and Tony Clark were each hit in the head with pitches.

Tiger rookie Jeff Weaver defeated the Indians for the second time in a week and Dean Palmer homered and drove in three runs to lead the Tigers to a 6-2 victory. Cleveland has lost two in a row for only the second time this season.

But the Tigers’ second consecutive victory over baseball’s best team was overshadowed by an ugly sixth in which both Ramirez and Clark got hit; both bullpens and benches emptied and Tiger Manager Larry Parrish wrestled Jaret Wright to the ground.

“I went out there to grab Manny, and Larry Parrish tackled me from behind, which I thought was completely classless,” Wright said.

Ramirez was the only player ejected following the incident, which was triggered in the top of the inning by Wright (4-2) drilling Clark in the head after giving up a two-run double.