Even during a coronavirus pandemic in which social distancing is advised, a grudge is still a grudge, as the Los Angeles Dodgers showed Tuesday night.…
Even during a coronavirus pandemic in which social distancing is advised, a grudge is still a grudge, as the Los Angeles Dodgers showed Tuesday night.
They were playing the Houston Astros, the team they believe stole the 2017 World Series from them and one whose cheating scandal came to light over the offseason. There was always going to be simmering, lingering animosity and it erupted into a brawl in the sixth inning as the two teams played for the first time this year. Players mixed it up, exchanging comments and droplets rather than swings. Some wore masks, some urged social distancing from one another – either because of the pandemic or because it’s what baseball players do when they fight.
The Dodgers were leading by three runs in the bottom of the sixth inning and Alex Bregman had worked a 3-0 count against Dodgers right-hander Joe Kelly when Kelly fired a 96-mph fastball behind Bregman’s head. Bregman reacted calmly and took first base. Three batters later, with runners at first and second and two outs, Kelly’s 87-mph curveball narrowly missed Carlos Correa’s head with a wild pitch and the runners advanced.
