When Texas Rangers pitcher Roy Oswalt hit Minnesota Twins star Joe Mauer with a pitch on a 2-0 count during the top of the third inning on Thursday, it didn't go over well with anyone on the Twins' bench. Shortly after that, Twins pitcher Scott Diamond buzzed the tower with Josh Hamilton, which led to the ejection of Diamond and (eventually) manager Ron Gardenhire. Things cooled down and no further actions had to be taken, but heading into Friday's game Oswalt is trying to make nice while Mauer is still a bit miffed:

"Truthfully, I can't keep the ball on the left side of the plate," Oswalt said when asked if he hit Mauer. "I don't know what I'm doing. I threw a good pitch on 2-0 that actually stayed there. I told myself, ‘I can throw that same pitch and I can get him to swing at it and jam him.'"

Said Mauer: "All I know is, there's a base open, three-and-oh, and I almost got one in the neck. Guys have each other's backs," Mauer said. "I don't think he was trying to throw it there. It was just, people in this clubhouse have each other's backs, and that's all I can say."

quotes via the Pioneer Press.

For updates, stay tuned to SB Nation Minnesota. For more comprehensive coverage of this series, visit Twins blog Twinkie Town and Rangers blog Lone Star Ball. And for more news, notes and analysis from around baseball, be sure to check out Baseball Nation.