Toronto’s Gibbons, Lilly Scuffle in Loss

Manager John Gibbons wound up with a bloody nose after scrapping with pitcher Ted Lilly near the Toronto dugout, and the Oakland Athletics rallied from an eight-run deficit to beat the Blue Jays, 12-10, Monday night.

Gibbons and Lilly said no punches were thrown.

“We were on the verge of something regrettable happening. We were yelling at each other face to face,” Lilly said.

The Blue Jays had an 8-0 lead, but Lilly was pulled in the third inning when the Athletics scored seven runs. Gibbons chewed out his pitcher, who refused to give him the ball.

When Lilly left the mound for the clubhouse, Gibbons followed him. A team trainer and a number of players then ran down the stairs. Cameramen near the dugout saw Gibbons push Lilly first.

Photographer Aaron Harris said Lilly was waiting for Gibbons in the tunnel leading to the clubhouse.

“Gibbons just went at him,” Harris said. “It looked like Gibbons grabbed him and they disappeared. Then the whole dugout emptied back there. It was mayhem down in the tunnel.”

A television camera later showed Gibbons and the trainer wipe the manager’s nose with a towel.

“He thought he should have been left in the game,” Gibbons said of Lilly. “I didn’t think so. We hashed it out. Everything is fine now.”

In July, Gibbons challenged Shea Hillenbrand to a fight after the infielder wrote on the clubhouse bulletin board that the “ship was sinking.” Hillenbrand declined to fight and was later traded to San Francisco.