INQUIRER Sports

ANAHEIM -- New York Yankees catcher Ivan Rodriguez and Los Angeles Angels outfielder Torii Hunter were thrown out of a Major League Baseball contest Monday after a bench-clearing incident in the sixth inning.

Mike Napoli hit a ground ball to third base and Hunter was caught between third and home.

Rodriguez took a throw at the plate from New York third baseman Alex Rodriguez and Hunter was tagged out, several feet from the plate.

Hunter and Ivan Rodriguez made contact on the play, and after it the catcher gave Hunter a shove.

Hunter then charged Rodriguez and pushed him hard in the back. The benches emptied and Ivan Rodriguez took an open-handed swing at Hunter that missed before order was restored.

The Angels broke open a close game in the sixth, scoring six runs to take an 8-1 lead en route to a 12-1 victory.

Vladimir Guerrero smacked a two-run homer for the Angels in the sixth, driving in a total of three runs. Brandon Wood also drove in three runs, including solo home runs in the third and eighth.