Chris Sale went to Royals clubhouse after being ejected following brawl

CHICAGO -- As the Chicago White Sox and Kansas City Royals await punishment from Major League Baseball for their roles in an on-field brawl Thursday night, more information was revealed Friday about how it escalated behind the scenes.

White Sox manager Robin Ventura confirmed that pitcher Chris Sale, who started Thursday night and was one of five players ejected, approached the Royals clubhouse after the fight. Sale was believed to have banged on the visitors clubhouse door in the eighth, one inning after the brawl.

"I didn't see it, but somebody told me he was knocking on the door," Royals pitcher Edinson Volquez said Friday.

Added Ventura: "Yeah, all emotions are running high at that point. I just found out about [Sale approaching the Royals clubhouse]. You've got to have a conversation, and you move on from there. Luckily, cooler heads prevailed and nothing happened."

A source indicated that injured Royals outfielder Alex Rios played a role in calming down Sale. Rios, who is currently on the DL, and Sale were teammates on the White Sox from 2010 until late in the 2013 season.

Asked about going to the Royals locker room, Sale declined to talk about it specifically.

"There's really nothing to talk about; it is what it is," Sale said. "What's done is done. It's all in the past. Baseball's a day-to-day sport. Every day is a new day, so anything that happened yesterday, we're ready to win a ballgame today, and we're just ready to put this all behind us. Come in every day ready to win, and that's what we're ready to do."

While Sale was ejected Thursday after giving up two runs over seven innings, it was not clear what his role was in the fight to get the attention of umpires. As for the other players ejected -- the White Sox's Jeff Samardzija and the Royals' Lorenzo Cain, Yordano Ventura and Volquez -- their roles were much clearer.

Samardzija expressed regret about being an instigator, instead of a peacemaker, Thursday.

"Nobody wants to act that way," he said. "In a way, it's embarrassing, and you want to come back and show you want to be known for what you do on the field and the way you play the game. Obviously, look back on it and you're not happy about it, you're not proud about it, but I wear my emotions on my sleeve and I care for my teammates and I want to win every game."

Royals manager Ned Yost insisted Friday that his team is not to blame for a string of fights, saying opponents are mostly at fault.

Yost said his team has not started "any of this." He said opponents are trying to get under his players' skin and that his team has to remain composed.

Prior to Friday's Royals-White Sox game being suspended in the top of the ninth inning in a 2-2 tie, first baseman Eric Hosmerwas among the Royals players to support their manager on that point.

"Teams are trying to get in our heads a little more," Hosmer said. "And I think we can just go about it a little differently. I think we can control our emotions a little better because, at the end of the day, that's not who we are. We're not trying to go out there and pick fights. We're not starting it by any means. We're just trying to play baseball and go out there and play the game that we all love playing."

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.