CLEVELAND — White Sox shortstop Tim Anderson and Guardians third baseman Jose Ramirez went toe-to-toe in a dukes-up boxing match near second base Saturday, and both players were ejected after their fisticuffs sparked a benches-clearing brawl at Progressive Field.

In the Sox’ 7-4 victory, which halted a five-game losing streak, Ramirez and Anderson were the main event. The infielders got tangled up at second after Ramirez slid in safely with a double in the sixth inning, and Ramirez pushed at Anderson’s leg from the ground as the shortstop straddled him.

When Ramirez got up, he pointed a finger close to Anderson’s cap. Anderson, much like a hockey fighter, then dropped his glove and put up his fists. Ramirez also raised his fists, and the two exchanged glancing blows before Ramirez decked Anderson with a punch.

“I felt I was able to land one,” Ramírez said through a translator.

Second-base umpire Malachi Moore initially got between them but then backed away, letting the pair square off and setting off an intense scrum involving players and coaches from both teams.

Well after the benches cleared, Sox manager Pedro Grifol and Guardians manager Terry Francona also got into a heated exchange, and both were ejected. Guardians third-base coach Mike Sarbaugh and closer Emmanuel Clase were tossed, too. Anderson and Ramirez face likely suspensions.

Sarbaugh and Grifol appeared to raise their hands to each other in the midst of a second flurry.

“I’m not going to comment on it,” Grifol said. “I’m going to let MLB figure it out, do their investigation and watch the video. They have some work to do.”

Anderson was unavailable after the game. Grifol said he was not hurt in the fight.

Tension had been building between the division foes in their last two series.

“In division baseball you see a lot of each other and there has been a lot of mouthing,” Kopech said. “We’re not playing our best baseball right now. We’re also not going to get bullied by a team that’s playing under .500. Tempers flared and things happen.”

“Before it started I know Anderson was yell at [Guardians first baseman Gabriel] Aruis, and the umpre told him to knock it off,” said Francona, who was ejected for the third time during a Sox game this season.

Sox first baseman Andrew Vaughn put Anderson in a bear hug to restrain Anderson after the altercation and escorted him to the dugout. Several other players, including right-hander Touki Toussaint, catcher Yasmani Grandal and infielder Elvis Andrus, and coach Daryl Boston helped restrain Anderson, too.

“I didn’t appreciate that Anderson, once he had 11, 12 guys between him, that’s when he started [again],” Francona said. “I said something to him, and that’s what their manager was yelling about.”

Anderson then tried to get back on the field, and Vaughn had to hold him back again.

“He’s been disrespecting the game for a while,” Ramírez added. “When he does something like that on the bases, he can get somebody out of the game. So I was telling him to stop doing that. After he tapped me really hard, more than needed, he said he wanted to fight and I had to defend myself.”

“It’s part of the game,” Andrus said. “Boys are going to be boys. We go to the extreme, go 100% and things like this happen.”

Play was stopped for 14 minutes.

“That was pretty wild,” said Mike Clevinger, a former Guardian. “Adrenaline is flowing and there is a little history back and forth. The talking, every celebration, little things, running his mouth to Tim and obviously worlds collided at second base.”

Kopech takes no-hitter into sixth

Right-hander Michael Kopech took a bumpy no-hitter into the sixth, and Luis Robert Jr., (30th) Vaughn, Oscar Colas and Andrus homered against Guardians starter Noah Syndergaard to help the Sox build a 5-0 lead.

Kopech, who was 1-5 with nine home runs allowed and a 5.65 ERA in his previous seven starts, walked four and struck out three. He gave up three hits, including the double to Ramirez that started the fight.

It was the third time Kopech (5-10) held an opponent hitless for five innings this season.

Personnel matters

The Sox claimed right-hander Brent Honeywell off waivers from the Padres and selected the contract of 6-9 right-hander Lane Ramsey from Triple-A Charlotte. Right-hander Gregory Santos was placed on the bereavement list.