Williams on letting Papelbon pitch the ninth: "I didn't get all the facts at that time"

Nationals manager Matt Williams took responsibility for allowing right-hander Jonathan Papelbon to continue to pitch after a physical dugout altercation in the eighth inning of Sunday's 12-5 loss to the Phillies.

Williams said Papelbon would not have pitched in the ninth inning if he had known the extent of the altercation, where Papelbon appeared to put his hand around the neck of teammate Bryce Harper, when it happened on the left side of the dugout near the steps to the field. During games, Williams usually stands to the far right side of the dugout near the steps toward home plate.

"Looking at it briefly out of the corner of my eye initially, it was very quick," Williams said. "You have arguments in the dugout. Didn't get a chance to see the full altercation until after."

Williams said he was not aware of the extent of the altercation until after he had completed an end-of-season event with season ticket holders and following his postgame meeting with the media.

"I take responsibility for that," Williams said. "I could've gotten more information in that regard. I could've gotten more specifics on it. At that moment, it's over with very quickly and they go their separate ways and we're in the middle of an inning. In that regard, I could've asked for more specifics, yes."

It appeared that bench coach Randy Knorr and hitting coach Rick Schu, along with Ian Desmond and other players broke up the fight between Papelbon and Harper.

"I did not ask for any specifics as to what happened in the dugout," Williams said. "They went their separate ways and the hitter's in the box."

"I'm standing at the other end of the dugout, we've got a hitter at the plate," he said. "That's what I'm focused on. And then it happens, and it's broken up very quickly. And they go their separate ways, go back to the game."

Williams said he made the call to put Papelbon back in the game. In retrospect, Williams said may have considered pulling the closer if he had known the extent of the physical contact that had occurred.

"It's my decision as the manager," Williams said. "That's the bottom line. There's one guy that makes the decision on lineups, on who to play, who to pinch-hit for, who to bring in from the bullpen. Whatever that is, it's my decision. Again, I didn't get all the facts at that time. That lies with me and beyond that it's not a coach's responsibility to come to me and say I think you should do X, Y or Z. That's the manager's decision."

Williams announced the suspension of Papelbon and said the right-hander would not travel with the team to Atlanta or New York to complete the regular season schedule.

"At the time I left you yesterday, decisions had not been made," Williams said. "I told you it was an internal matter. When I said that, I meant it because there is a process to this. It does not mean that we didn't take it seriously, but I was not going to open that process publicly."