CHICAGO (AP) — Manager Ned Yost insists his Kansas City Royals are not to blame for a string of fights and that opponents are mostly at fault.

Yost says his team has not started “any of this.” He says opponents are trying to get under his players’ skin and that his team has to remain composed.

Yost spoke before Friday’s game against the Chicago White Sox, a day after the teams were involved in a benches-clearing melee that resulted in five players being ejected. It could also lead to discipline from the league.

The defending AL champion Royals were leading the Central division at 12-4. But while the wins are mounting, so are the skirmishes.

The latest was at the end of the seventh inning Thursday, when Royals pitcher Yordano Ventura snagged a grounder by Adam Eaton and the men appeared to have words.