Angels manager Mike Scioscia: Rangers threw at Andrelton Simmons' neck

ARLINGTON - Mike Scioscia isn't happy.

His team has already been eliminated and he faces the very real possibility of watching the Rangers celebrate an AL West title from across the field for a second straight year. And so, after a 5-4 loss to the Rangers Tuesday, the Los Angeles Angels manager explained why, in his mind, the series has gotten chippier by the day.

On Wednesday, in no particular order, he was upset with Carlos Gomez's slide, Keone Kela's brushback and anybody within shouting distance, which in this case, just happened to be Spike Owen. Scioscia and the Rangers' interim third base coach somehow ended up in a brouhaha along the third base dugout after Scioscia shouted.

"I was upset," Scioscia told reporters in his post-game briefing. "I was pissed. He was the closest guy in an opposing uniform."

Scioscia said he was upset early in the game by Gomez supposedly accusing his shortstop Andrelton Simmons of blocking second base on a slide. Gomez reached the base in time on an errant pickoff throw, but became disengaged and was tagged out. He did seem to be having some conversation on his way back to the dugout.

According to Scioscia, Gomez suggested payback was coming. And, according to the Angels manager, the payback came when Keone Kela's 97 mph fastball was up and behind Simmons in the seventh inning.

"Obviously, it was intent to throw at Andrelton Simmons, and for some reason, they were upset, saying he had his foot in front of the slide when Gomez slid into the base and then overslid the bag and was consequently called out," Scioscia said. "I guess they took exception to what was a good play by Andrelton. He wasn't in Gomez's way at all. Gomez let him know that he wasn't happy. He came up to bat, and they threw a 97-mile-an-hour fastball at his neck. So, yeah, I'm pissed."

"When a guy says they're going to get you for making a play ... The thing about Andrelton, he's not going to get intimidated by anything on that field," Scioscia added. "But when you throw behind a guy's neck for him making a good play, that's out of line."

The pitch from Kela drew a warning from umpires, who had already witnessed three hit batters.

"Keone likes to throw the ball high and probably got a little too close to Simmons," Banister said. "Obviously we have a whole lot to lose in those type of situations. I don't think that there was any intent there. Fastball tends to get away from him at times, we've seen that. I'm sure that nobody wants to see a 97 mile per hour fastball around their chin so I'm sure that he's entitled to take offense to that. Warnings were issued and we played on."

After the warnings, though, Los Angeles' Brett Oberholtzer hit Elvis Andrus with a pitch and was ejected. As part of the protocol, the manager of the offending pitcher also gets an automatic ejection.

So Mike Scioscia was left to cool off back in the manager's office.