Dodgers-Padres Brawl: Zack Greinke Breaks Collarbone During Fight
By Josh Hill
The biggest story of the morning is the massive, bench-clearing brawl between the San Diego Padres and Los Angeles Dodgers on Thursday night. But while the fight is over and done with, the ramifications of it are still being felt the morning after, as in addition to everything that happened, the Los Angeles Dodgers will be without pitcher Zack Greinke who broke his collarbone during the fight.
Greinke played a part in sparking the brawl in the sixth inning of Thursday night’s game when he hit San Diego Padres outfielders Carlos Quentin in the shoulder. Quentin charged the mound and the benches cleared after that with Greinke, Quentin, Jerry Hairston, and Matt Kemp all getting tossed from the game.
But the Dodgers are the real losers in the whole mess, as Greinke is now out for an indefinite amount of time. The Dodgers paid a pretty penny to acquire Greinke this offseason as well, giving the former Cy Young winner a $147 million contract when he hit the open market back last winter. Now the plans the Dodgers had for him are on hold, and that’s making a lot of people very angry.
“My teammate now has a broken f—— collarbone,” Hairston told reporters on Thursday. “Excuse my language, but that’s unbelievable.”
Matt Kemp was so enraged that he confronted Quentin in the tunnel after the game and according to ESPN, police had to separate them. When told Greinke had broken his collarbone, Quentin hardly seemed to care and was anything but apologetic.
“It’s unfortunate. It could have been avoided. You can ask Zack about that,” Quentin said. “For me, I’ve been hit by many pitches in my career. I think you guys know that. I can tell you I’ve never responded in that fashion, so you guys can do your homework on that. For me, the situation is done. That’s it.”
We’re likely far from done hearing about this brawl, as Major League Baseball is likely going to step in with suspensions and fines for not only the brawl, but the spill-over incidents like Kemp’s confrontation of Quentin after the game. Dodgers skipper Don Mattingly thinks Quentin’s suspension should be weighted on the length of time Greinke is sidelined.
“It’s just stupid is what it is,” Mattingly said. “[Quentin] should not play a game until Greinke can pitch. If he plays before Greinke pitches, something is wrong.”
If you’re waiting for a heated rematch between these two teams you don’t have to wait long as the Dodgers and Padres clash again on Jackie Robinson Day, only this time the showdown is at Dodger Stadium.