Tempers flared in the first Los Angeles Dodgers-Houston Astros matchup since an offseason in the aftermath of the 2017 Houston poster-stealing scandal, and Joe Kelly, a Dodgers reliever who was not part of the World Series of That season between the two teams, he was at the center of it all.
If you thought the Dodgers were just going to get over that World Series loss when they hit the field Tuesday night, Joc Pederson’s Instagram story should have been enough to let you know it was still on their minds.
When the Los Angeles team’s plane landed in Houston, Pederson posted a photo of him and his teammates coming down the steps on the tarmac with a one-word caption:
“Bangggg”.
“Bangggg”, as even during a pandemic and in front of an empty stadium, they have not forgotten the poster theft scandal, the trash cans exploding or the 2017 World Series banner they believe would hang at Dodger Stadium instead of Minute Maid Park if it weren’t for Houston’s transgressions.
Pederson doubled over saying, “They’re not cheating to get there,” when asked if the 2020 World Series champion should have an asterisk next to his name after playing a shorter season.
But for the first 5 ½ innings of LA’s 5-2 victory Tuesday night, the Dodgers-Astros played quietly, like any other game in this 2020 season. And then, at the bottom of the sixth. . Bangggg! – It was on.
This is what happened in that post fueled by Kelly’s madness, a few high pitches, heated words that television cameras clearly caught without fans to drown them … and three years of pent-up anger.
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Jeff Passan and Eduardo Pérez discuss whether Joe Kelly could face MLB discipline after pitching to multiple Astros.
‘The balls escape sometimes, but not so many’
Owner of a 1.38 career WHIP and a low-season viral video in which he smashed his bedroom window with a wandering tone, Kelly is not exactly known for his control. So after Jose Altuve came out, nothing seemed out of the ordinary when Kelly fell behind Alex Bregman 3-0 on pitches that missed on both sides of the strike zone, including two breakout balls.
But when that 3-0 pitch left Kelly’s 96 mph fastball just above Bregman’s head, the mood changed quickly when Kelly let out a demonstrative yawn from the mound while third baseman Astros squatted to avoid being hit.
After the game, Kelly denied any attempt on the field, saying: “My accuracy is not the best” and that the internal fastball “was not my best field.”
Astros manager Dusty Baker offered a different version after the game: “Balls leak sometimes, but not many in the big leagues. When you throw a 3-0 fastball over a guy’s head, now you’re flirting with finishing his career. “
Words at first base: ‘Just go up the mound, little f — er’
The next step for the Astros was Michael Brantley, who, like Kelly, was not part of that 2017 World Series matchup between Houston and LA Brantley was on a Cleveland team that lost to the Yankees in the League Division Series. American; Kelly’s Red Sox were eliminated by the Astros in that same round.
The at-bat went quietly at the plate, with Kelly throwing three straight-knuckle curves and Brantley hitting the third offer to Dodgers first baseman Max Muncy. Things heated up quickly with Kelly covering first base and Brantley running hard to avoid the possible double game.
In her stretch to cover the bag, Kelly laid her right leg out in front of the base and Brantley’s foot held her as she ran. No harm, no fault, right? Not quite. Kelly seemed to make an exception to the contact and looked at Brantley from near first base.
And this is when a very 2020 moment came into play: As Kelly stared at Brantley, the words “just get on the mound, little f — er” echoed in the Astros’ haven, clear enough to be heard on TV broadcast. and certainly for Kelly in the field.
OK, maybe Kelly really was just wild
After a slow walk back, Kelly did, indeed, climb onto the mound to face Yuli Gurriel. And everything except Kelly’s control seemed to have calmed down. Kelly walked Gurriel on four pitches, but none of the four seemed intentional: He started with a fastball above the center of the plate, followed by another fastball up. A third pitch came in and sent Gurriel at full speed, but it was an 86mph curveball, and eventually Kelly threw a 3-0 fastball that missed.
Gurriel threw down his bat, removed the padding, and slowly made his way to first base. They all seemed calm.
Brouhaha avoided, right? Not so fast.
Correa vs. Kelly: a new meme is born
With two outs in the inning, Kelly started the at-bat by throwing a wandering ball over the head of Carlos Correa, one of the 2017 Astros who has been most vocal during the aftermath of theft of cartels and also the owner of a second – Inning home run by starter Walker Buehler. Correa reacted by removing his helmet, wiping his forehead and backing off for the next pitch, and Kelly seemed to say nothing as she ran to cover her house and retrieve the ball.
Things were still quiet … for the moment. With a 2-2 count, Correa was just a few yards away from all this unfolding very differently when he tied a ball that had just missed on the left field line, before hitting a bad swing on a curved ball. 88 mph submerged The strike zone.
Kelly, according to Baker, offered his own critique of Correa’s swing as they left the field, shouting, “Nice swing, b —-” as he made a mocking grimace that instantly became an internet sensation.
A (somewhat) socially distant moment to clear the bank
And it was on. At least as much as possible with managers, umpires and players mixing a certain social detachment as they rush towards each other and exchange heated words outside the Dodgers’ shelter.
Here’s what stood out during this first 2020 bank cleaning scene:
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Wearing sports masks, the Astros coaches quickly stepped in between Correa, Gurriel, Josh Reddick, and other Houston players heading toward Kelly.
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Dodgers manager Dave Roberts assumed a similar posture with his mask from the LA side of the dust, standing directly between Pederson and the Astros with outstretched arms.
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In a scene from just 2020, All-Stars Muncy and Altuve were face to face a few feet away, with Altuve wearing a mask and Muncy was not wearing his.
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In an even more exclusive scene in 2020, cardboard cutouts could be seen smiling motionless from Houston’s Crawford boxes in the background during the altercation.
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As everyone else left the field between innings, Baker and the umpires were masked during a heated conversation about the Astros ‘warning, and the Dodgers’ warning, after the incident.
Next: Round 2
So where will things go from here? Well, the Dodgers and Astros return to the field on Wednesday night (7 ET on ESPN), with Dustin May and Cristian Javier scheduled to go up on the mound. Will we see another heated exchange like Tuesday’s sixth inning?
“Well this is the first time,” Baker said after the game, when asked if this would be an ongoing problem throughout the season for his Astros. “They said they warned everyone from the start, but this is the first time it happened. And this is not the first time I’ve seen Joe Kelly in a skirmish like this, so they need to talk to their own boys. I’m not going to Talk to my boys. My boys did nothing.
“We didn’t start anything, but we didn’t accept anything either.”
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