"Moments after a fiery dugout confrontation that he had found himself right in the middle of, Russell Branyan headed back to the clubhouse for a chat with Chone Figgins.

Branyan had interceded in a heated dugout exchange between Figgins and Mariners manager Don Wakamatsu midway through the fifth inning of a 2-1 loss Friday night to the Boston Red Sox. By the time it was done, players were pulling bodies away, trying to restore order amid the chaos.

The 34-year-old Branyan was a key part of last season's harmonious Mariners clubhouse, and he thought it was important to go and have a word in the clubhouse with Figgins, who is in his first year of a four-year, $36 million deal with Seattle.

"I just think when you have a situation like that, you want to keep your group together," Branyan said. "You don't want guys straying away and going on their own. We're a 25-man team and we want to keep it that way.""