Six players were suspended and a seventh fined by Major League Baseball (MLB) on Saturday following Thursday's benches-clearing brawl between the Chicago White Sox and Kansas City Royals.

The Royals' Yordano Ventura was handed a seven-game suspension and fellow pitcher Edinson Volquez a five-game ban. Outfielder Lorenzo Cain and pitcher Kelvin Herrera were both suspended for two games.

White Sox pitchers Chris Sale and Jeff Samardzija were hit with five-game suspensions while catcher Tyler Flowers was fined an undisclosed amount.

Thursday's fracas began when White Sox center fielder Adam Eaton grounded out to end the seventh inning and exchanged heated words with Ventura as he made his way to first base.

Players from both dugouts and bullpens then ran on to the field, and several punches were thrown.

The brawl ended with the ejection of five players, including starting pitchers Ventura and Sale.

Unless appealed, the suspensions were scheduled to start on Sunday when the two teams continue their series in Chicago.

"We understand that Major League Baseball has to do what they think is fair in situations like this," Royals manager Ned Yost said in a team statement. "Now, we just have to wait for the appeals process to play out."