Basebrawl: Canada and Mexico clear benches at World Baseball Classic

PHOENIX – Canada and Mexico had a surprisingly physical baseball game on Saturday.

A bench-clearing brawl broke out in the ninth inning of Canada’s 10-3 rout of Mexico at the World Baseball Classic in Phoenix.

The fight started when Canadian outfielder Rene Tosoni was hit at the plate by Mexican reliever Arnold Leon.

Tosoni yelled at Leon after being brushed back on a pitch, and started toward the mound after being hit on the next pitch.

Several players, including centre-fielder Tyson Gillies and reliever Jay Johnson exchanged punches with Mexican players before being separated.

Canadian players began yelling at the stands after a fan threw a water bottle that hit pitching coach Denis Boucher.

When the game resumed, Leon and Tosoni were both ejected. The game had to be paused again when a fan threw a ball at Canadian first base coach Larry Walker.

An announcer twice pleaded with the 19,581 fans at Chase Field to remain calm.