CHICAGO -- On an otherwise nondescript Thursday night, the Kansas City Royals made a stand to say they are more than willing to defend their 2014 American League championship flag in every way possible.

Meanwhile, the Chicago White Sox, who on paper appeared to be one of the most improved teams this winter, showed an aggressive bark in a 3-2 loss over 13 innings that could end up helping them improve an otherwise disappointing on-field bite.

With all of Chicago focused on both Chicago Bulls and Chicago Blackhawks playoff games, the White Sox managed to pry away some eyeballs with a seventh-inning brawl with a Royals team that has been on the defensive in more ways than one this season.

The announced paid crowd was 14,218, but there probably wasn't half that in the ballpark on a cold and windy night. When both teams spilled out of their dugouts following Adam Eaton's comebacker to Royals pitcher Yordano Ventura, it looked like the majority of the people in the ballpark were actually on the field.

With both sides keeping it somewhat vague afterward, it was left to the video to try to tell a story that escalated after Ventura and Eaton were barking at each other after the hard-hit ball up the middle. It is unclear what Eaton said, but replays appeared to show Ventura yelling back an expletive.

"What happened [was] two competitive teams scratching for the same goal," Eaton said. "Sometimes it gets the best of you. Ventura is a heck of a competitor. I respect the heck out of him and everyone behind him. I'm a competitor as well. Sometimes boys will be boys, and I think that was a situation where we had some excitement."

Ventura took the high road as well.

"Watching it, I felt bad that the actions between Eaton and I started it," Ventura said through an interpreter. "I'm 23 years old. I made a mistake in being emotional. But when someone attacks me, I respond and stand up for myself."

All was not so respectful in the heat of the moment. White Sox pitcher Jeff Samardzija seemed particularly irked with Royals outfielder Lorenzo Cain, and Royals pitcher Edinson Volquez took a full swing at Samardzija but did not connect.

On Opening Day, Samardzija hit Cain with a pitch shortly after Mike Moustakas hit a home run.

From that first day of the season, the Royals have looked ready to defend their AL crown with gusto. In the opening series between these teams, the Royals were head and shoulders better than their rival with all the roster additions and ensuing analysis that the Sox could be division contenders.

The Royals swept the opening series so soundly that White Sox manager Robin Ventura was instantly put on the hot seat, though management responded to say it was more than pleased with the job he is doing.

In that opening series, six batters were hit by pitches, with Cain hit in each of the first two games. The tension rose quickly Thursday when the White Sox's Jose Abreu was hit in the elbow by a Ventura pitch in the fourth inning, and Moustakas was hit by a Chris Sale pitch in the fifth.

A two-inning simmer turned into a full boil with the Eaton-Yordano Ventura incident.

"I talked to Yordano about it, and he said when he caught the ball, his reaction was he jumped up, he caught the ball and looked at Eaton, and Eaton was screaming at him," said Royals manager Ned Yost, who found himself on the ground at one point during the seventh-inning fracas. "I don't know if Eaton was screaming at him or not. [They were] just staring at each other, and then when Eaton came back [after the out], that's when it all started."

When the dust finally settled, Sale and Samardzija were ejected on the White Sox's side, while Ventura, Cain and Volquez were tossed from the Royals.

"Yeah, we're competitive, we're athletes, we're guys," Sale said. "You put us in the heat of the moment, and we do some crazy things sometimes. That's about it."

After the brawl, though, both sides appeared more shaken than energized. Both offenses went cold, though in the White Sox's case, they were trying to break through against a Royals bullpen that has been nearly impenetrable in the early going.

As the game progressed, tag plays on the bases ended with players reaching out and touching one another, a sign everybody was satisfied with the statements that had been made.

The takeaways moving forward are that the Royals must figure out what to do with an increasingly emotional Ventura. The White Sox, on the other hand, are probably looking at an extended suspension for Samardzija while marveling at his willingness to have the backs of teammates he has played with for just two-and-a-half weeks.

Said Yost about Ventura: "You know, he's a young guy. I had trouble learning how to control my emotions when I was young. It's something you have to continue to work on. He knows it -- it just comes out. He's a competitive guy, and it just comes out. He's going to be focused to better control his emotions from here on out."

Samardzija was not around postgame to tell his side of the story, but his point in all of it could have been to let his teammates know he is willing to get their backs.

"There are a lot of feisty guys in here, which I like," Eaton said. "A lot of guys like me. I respect our guys too. You come out there on my behalf, it's awesome. It shows the team camaraderie, and I think sometimes, like I said, boys will be boys."