Dodgers and Diamondbacks Brawl: It’s Not Over

Just when it appeared that cooler heads may finally have prevailed, some people associated with the Dodgers asserted the fact that the incident is not over.

Last night, the Dodgers and D’Backs got involved in an ugly conflict after Zack Greinke was hit in the shoulder (he was almost hit in the head) and the benches cleared. This was proceeded by Yasiel Puig, Miguel Montero, and Cody Ross being hit by pitches earlier in the game. The benches had already cleared once, and things boiled over after Greinke was hurt.

Dodgers’ reliever Ronald Belisario, who was seen getting physically engaged in the conflict, said simply of the incident “It’s not done.” Before the game tonight, Don Mattingly had this to say- “If you really want to get technical about it, in baseball terms, it really shouldn’t be over. Again, I don’t want to come here to fight. I want to come to win a game today.”  Clayton Kershaw also was frustrated, saying “If Greinke and Puig don’t get out of the way, we have two guys in the hospital.” 

Don Mattingly also explained why Greinke, who missed Montero two times before finally hitting him in the back, had to retaliate. “If he doesn’t do that, he loses a lot of respect in the clubhouse. It’s more dangerous for him not to do that than to do that.” This statement pretty much throws everything out the window about the pitch being an accident. Interesting to note- Zack Greinke has been involved in both of the Dodgers’ major conflicts this year. He only has 1 more win than involvements in major brawls.