Bruce Bochy livid over lengthy delay after Rangers-Astros benches-clearing incident

There was no shortage of drama in Game 5 of the American League Championship Series. There was Adolis Garcia's go-ahead homer in the sixth inning and Jose Altuve's game-winning three-run blast to give the Houston Astros the 5-4 win.

But there was one moment that put the game on hold, and that was the benches-clearing incident in the bottom of the eighth inning after Garcia was hit by a pitch by Astros reliever Bryan Abreu. That resulted in a 12-minute delay for officials to separate the players and ejections for Abreu, Garcia, and Astros manager Dusty Baker to be decided upon.

During this delay, Texas Rangers reliever Jose Leclerc waited in the dugout to potentially close out the game and clinch the win. However, he surrendered the aforementioned three-run homer to Altuve. Manager Bruce Bochy was not happy about the whole ordeal.

A reporter asked Bochy about what he thought didn't go Leclerc's way in the ninth inning. Bochy brought up Garcia getting hit by the pitch and the delays, calling the whole delay "a bunch of crap."

You can listen to Bochy's comments in the video below at the 41-second mark, courtesy of Bally Sports Southwest.

Bruce Bochy blasts lengthy delay in ALCS Game 5

"I was concerned about that delay, I really was," said Bochy. "It was a long one, it was taking too long, to be honest. The whole thing was a bunch of crap, to be honest, what happened there. Who knows what the intentions are, but it's not the first it's happened. Just couldn't get the game going again, and I'm sure that affected him because he came in to get an out in the eighth inning, so maybe that played a part in it.

While Bochy did bring up the delay, he also stressed that the team didn't do enough to put more runs on the board. After the benches cleared, the Rangers had two runners on base with no outs on the board. Yet, the Rangers could not extend their lead off closer Ryan Pressly, who entered the game in relief of Abreu, as he retired their next three batters.

To start the top of the ninth inning, Leclerc surrendered a single to Yainer Diaz and a walk to Jon Singelton. Altuve stepped up to the plate immediately afterward and hit the eventual game-winning home run.

Leclerc was asked about the 25-minute delay between entering the game in the top of the eighth to walking on the field for the top of the ninth and whether it affected his game. Leclerc said through an interpreter he's not going to use that as an excuse for surrendering the home run to Altuve.

"I've been in that situation before, not necessarily having to pitch afterwards, but I've been in a situation where someone's been injured, I've been brought in, there's been a gap in time. But I'm not making any excuses," said Leclerc. "Altuve's a great hitter, it's all about the execution. [Pitching coach] Mike Maddux asked me when I was in the dugout if I was willing to go out there, if I needed to warm up a little bit more. I said no and that I was good to go."

The Rangers now head back to Houston with a 3-2 deficit in the ALCS. Maybe there will be luck on their side, as they took the first two games at Minute Maid Park in this series. But with one more loss, the Rangers are eliminated, and the Astros return to the World Series for the fifth time in seven years.