The Arizona Diamondbacks and Los Angeles Dodgers are two teams that do not get along and last night it may have reached its peak after two benches clearing brawls and six ejections in last night’s game.
What started it all was when Dodgers phenom Yasiel Puig in the sixth inning got hit in the nose by a pitch from Diamondbacks starter Ian Kennedy on a 1-2 pitch. There was no intent behind the pitch and it simply a ball that got away. Given the history between the two franchises retaliation was a given.
In the seventh Zack Greinke made a questionable decision to bean Miguel Montero. Clint Fagan the umpire calling balls and strikes immediately gave out a warning and there wasn’t an ejection at the time though there should have been. Both benches also cleared as well and order got quickly restored.
By not ejecting Greinke immediate the mistake got magnified in the bottom half of the inning with the Dodgers pitcher leading off the bottom half of the inning.
Kennedy who is having a rough 2013 season made a classless move by hitting Greinke in the back of the helmet instead of the numbers. The ejection came immediately since Fagan made the warning and manager Kirk Gibson automatically got thrown out as well. The benches cleared again and this time it wasn’t as peaceful with punches being thrown, Turner Ward got thrown up against a railing and punches got thrown.
Ward got ejected as well and for the Dodgers it was Puig, Ronald Belisario and Mark McGwire.
There’s no question that Greinke was sticking up for a teammate it just wasn’t the appropriate time. The Dodgers had tied the game up at 2-2 putting a runner on first with no outs isn’t a way to start an inning off. With the brawl it will mean a number of Dodgers players being suspended for throwing punches.
Still the entire situation was avoidable if Fagan had used his discretion and ejected Greinke immediately for hitting Montero on purpose.