In the sixth inning of last night's Dodgers-Padres game, Los Angeles pitcher Zack Greinke plunked San Diego's Carlos Quentin on the elbow. The game was close and the count had been 3-2 — not typically intentional-beanball time.
Well, Quentin charged the mound and started an all-out brawl.
Upon impact, Quentin broke Greinke's collarbone.
Soon enough, both benches and bullpens were cleared.
Greinke's broken collarbone will likely sideline him for about two months.
Dodgers manager Don Mattingly: "[Quentin] should not play a game until Greinke can pitch."
Greinke: "He always seems to think I'm hitting him on purpose, but that's not the case."
The only problem with Quentin's rationale is he's always getting hit. He crowds the plate and leads all of baseball in hit-by-pitches since 2009 — by a wide margin.
Regardless, there was no earthly reason for Greinke to hit him, given that the game was close and any extra baserunner could've decided the outcome.
A lot of sports fights involve small mutual disputes getting out of hand, but not this one. And after the game, the response from sportswriters was swift and damning.
Terrible, awful, no good, very bad news about Greinke. What Quentin did was unjustified and should be dealt with swiftly.
Terrible, awful, no good, very bad news about Greinke. What Quentin did was unjustified and should be dealt with swiftly.-- Wendy Thurm
Carlos Quentin is a punk. No excuse for what he did tonight.
Carlos Quentin is a punk. No excuse for what he did tonight.-- Adam Jacobi
No matter the angle, it wasn't a pretty sight.
After the game, Dodger Matt Kemp confronted Quentin in the stadium tunnel and was stopped by Padres pitcher Clayton Richard from igniting another go-around.
But the whole brouhaha did prompt one of the greatest mic-drops in the history of people dropping recording equipment.
