A seventh inning brawl overshadows MLB match between the LA Dodgers and Arizona Diamondbacks.
A bench-clearing brawl in the seventh inning followed by Tim Federowicz’s bases-clearing double in the eighth lifted the Los Angeles Dodgers to a 5-3 victory over Arizona on Tuesday.
The Major League Baseball game had turned testy in the sixth inning, when Diamondbacks hurler Ian Kennedy hit the Dodgers’ right field rookie sensation Yasiel Puig in the face with a pitch.
Puig stayed in the game, but in the top of the seventh Dodgers pitcher Zack Greinke retaliated by drilling Miguel Montero in the back.
The benches cleared briefly after Montero was hit, but order was soon restored.
Then in the bottom of the seventh, Kennedy hit Greinke in the left shoulder.
Angry players poured off both benches. Punches appeared to be thrown, with Puig seeming to take a poke at Arizona infielder Eric Hinske.
Dodgers hitting coach Mark McGwire could be seen clutching the collar of Arizona manager Kirk Gibson.
The melee was broken up after several minutes. Arizona’s Kennedy, Gibson and assistant coach Turner Ward were ejected, while the Dodgers’ Puig and McGwire were also also tossed.
Greinke, who gave up two runs on two hits and struck out five over seven innings, missed nearly a month earlier in the season with a broken collarbone stemming from another bench-clearing incident.
On April 11, Greinke hit San Diego Padres outfielder Carlos Quentin with a pitch, causing Quentin to charge the mound. Greinke was hurt when he threw his shoulder at Quentin to attempt to absorb a collision.
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