Those bad feelings between Bip Roberts and the Kansas City Royals did not disappear during the winter.
Roberts, who called the Royals "losers" after they traded him last summer, was hit in the ribs by a pitch from Kansas City's Jose Rosado in the first inning of Friday's game against Detroit.Roberts, clearly angered, was restrained as he walked to first base. The Tigers retaliated when A.J. Sager hit Jed Hansen with a pitch leading off the Royals second. Umpire Dale Ford warned both sides to stop it.
The bad blood between Roberts and the Royals has been brewing since last July when his 15-year-old son, Lantavio, was in an automobile accident in San Diego. Roberts, then playing for Kansas City, traveled home immediately to be with his son.
But the Royals ordered him back to Kansas City, and that soured his relationship with them.
Lantavio made a full recovery. But after Roberts was traded to Cleveland for the Indians, he spoke publicly about his dislike for the Royals. Roberts joined the Tigers in the offseason.
Tony Clark hit a two-run homer as Detroit beat a split squad of Royals 6-2 at Lakeland, Fla.
MARLINS 11, BRAVES (SS) 3: At Melbourne, Fla., the Marlins broke their nine-game losing streak behind big hits by Gregg Zaun and John Cangelosi.
BRAVES (SS) 6, ROYALS 0 (SS) : At Haines City, Fla., Denny Neagle pitched four scoreless innings and extended his spring shutout streak to nine.
DODGERS 4, ORIOLES 0: At Vero Beach, Fla., Hideo Nomo bounced back from two poor outings to pitch four scoreless innings.
METS 14, ASTROS 1: At Kissimee, Fla., Bill Pulsipher and Armando Reynoso combined on a four-hitter that led New York over Houston.
RANGERS 9, YANKEES 1: At Port Charlotte, Fla., Roger Pavlik and Rick Helling each pitched four scoreless innings in Texas' win over New York.
BLUE JAYS 14, INDIANS 2: At Winter Haven, Fla., Jose Cruz Jr. hit a grand slam, Felipe Crespo had a three-run homer and Juan Samuel hit a two-run shot for Toronto.
DEVIL RAYS 13, PHILLIES 2: At St. Petersburg, Fla., Quinton McCracken, Paul Sorrento and Bubba Trammell had two-run doubles for Tampa Bay.
REDS 1, TWINS 0: At Sarasota, Fla., Damian Jackson singled home the winning run with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning for Cincinnati.
RED SOX 3, PIRATES 0: At Bradenton, Fla., Butch Henry pitched four innings before injuring a hamstring while running the bases as Boston beat Pittsburgh.
CARDINALS 2, EXPOS 1: At Jupiter, Fla., Dustin Hermanson kept his ERA at zero in spring training, pitching for scoreless innings for Montreal.
ANGELS (SS) 15, ATHLETICS (SS) 0: At Phoenix, Tim Salmon drove in four runs and Cecil Fielder had three hits as Anaheim defeated Oakland in a split-squad game.
GIANTS (SS) 7, MARINERS 1: At Peoria, Ariz., Kirk Rueter pitched four strong innings and Stan Javier went 3-for-3 as San Francisco's split squad beat Seattle.
ROCKIES 8 (SS) , ATHLETICS 6 (SS) : At Tucson, Ariz., Larry Walker continued his strong spring with two triples and three RBIs as Colorado beat Oakland in a split-squad game.
ROCKIES (SS) 8, GIANTS (SS) 7: At Scottsdale, Ariz., Nelson Liriano hit a three-run triple in Colorado's win over San Francisco in a split-squad game.
CUBS 11, BREWERS 10: At Mesa, Ariz., Sandy Martinez singled home the winning run with one out in the bottom of the 10th inning and the Cubs defeated Milwaukee.
ANGELS (SS) 11, WHITE SOX 9: At Tucson, Ariz., Troy Glaus went 3-for-4, hit a two-run homer and drove in five runs to lift Anaheim's split squad over the White Sox.