Thursday’s San Diego Padres Los Angeles Dodgers baseball game turned into a base “brawl.” The on-field melee injured a $147 million pitcher and had a Padre slugger defiantly defending himself post game.
With the Dodgers leading the Padres 2-1 in the 6th inning, Dodgers pitcher Zack Greinke hit the Padres Carlos Quentin with a pitch. Scroll down to watch the video from MLB.
After being beaned, Quentin stared at Greinke, the Dodger pitcher said something to Quentin, then it was on. View Images
Quentin charged the mound and slammed into Greinke. Both dugouts and bullpens emptied. It took about 20 minutes to clear the field and resume playing ball.
Quentin, Greinke, Dodgers center fielder Matt Kemp and Dodgers utility man Jerry Hairston Jr. were ejected after the brawl. Hairston triggered a second incident when he ran toward the Padres' dugout before being restrained by Padres first baseman Yonder Alonso and teammates A.J. Ellis and Skip Schumaker.
After the game, Quentin hinted that Greinke hit him on purpose. “There’s a history there, that’s why I reacted. It’s an unfortunate situation that dates back a few years” said Quentin.
"I've never thought about hitting him on purpose," said Greinke, who has now hit Quentin three times dating to their days in the American League. Quentin kept saying “we have a history,” but wouldn’t go into specifics when pressed about previous incidents with Greinke.
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Quentin suggested that whatever Greinke said to him from the mound was the "last straw" in his feud with Greinke and led him to go out to the mound.
Dodgers Manager Don Mattingly told reporters that Quentin, who dives toward the plate and is regularly hit by pitches, showed "zero understanding of the game of baseball" if he thought Greinke was throwing at him. "A 2-1 game and we're trying to hit him (with a) 3-2 (count)? That's just stupid, that's what it is," Mattingly said. "He should not play a game until Greinke can pitch (again). If he plays before Greinke pitches, something's wrong."
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Greinke, who is in the first year of a six-year, $147 million contract, suffered a broken left collar bone during the brawl. The Dodger right hander was wearing a sling after the game, no official word on how long Greinke will be out.
The Dodgers and Padres won’t have to wait long to settle any scores, the two teams begin a series Monday night in Los Angeles. Asked what he expects in that series Quentin said, “we’ll see what happens.”
