Beanballs set off lengthy Dodgers-Diamondbacks brawl

As far as baseball brawls go Tuesday night's up-close-and-personal between the Los Angeles Dodgers and Arizona Diamondbacks was a pro-wrestling cage fight.

First,  Dodgers phenom Yasiel Puig was plunked by a pitch in the face by Ian Kennedy then, after Zack Greinke plunked Miguel Montero, Kennedy plunked Greinke high on the shoulder with a 92 mph fastball setting off a seventh-inning melee that involved former major leaguers including Dodgers manager Don Mattingly, coach Mark McGwire, bench coach Alan Trammell as well as D'Backs manager Kirk Gibson.

Mattingly even wrestled Trammell to the ground.

Punches were thrown at that point as a heated brawl involving players and coaches ensued, resulting in six ejections before the Dodgers rallied to beat the Diamondbacks 5-3 at Dodger Stadium.  

Kennedy, Diamondbacks manager Kirk Gibson and coach Turner Ward, along with Puig, reliever Ronald Belisario and Dodgers hitting coach Mark McGwire were ejected after the lengthy scuffle that nearly spilled into the stands.

Greinke hitting Montero was payback for Kennedy hitting Puig in bottom of the sixth - the ball deflected off Puig's shoulder and grazed his nose. It wasn't broken and he didn't sustain a concussion, the team said. Puig didn't appear at his locker after the game to talk with reporters.

"If you can't pitch inside without hitting someone in the head, you shouldn't pitch inside," Mattingly said.

Kennedy said he was just trying to pitch inside to Puig, who came into the game on a blistering hot streak while batting .500.

"I thought I got him on the shoulder, but by his reaction, I figure I got him somewhere in the face," he said. "I definitely did not want to hit a guy with two strikes and put somebody like him on base."

Kennedy then hit Greinke in the upper left shoulder - the ball deflected off his helmet - with one out in the seventh and the game tied 2-all. It was the 41st batter Kennedy has hit since the start of 2010.

"I honestly had no idea that it was that high until I saw the replay," Kennedy said.

Mattingly was outraged. "I thought it was B.S," he said.

After the game, Greinke said he didn't want to discuss the brawl either.

"That's when it kind of got out of hand," Tim Federowicz said about Greinke getting hit. "You can't do that."

Kennedy immediately was tossed and calmly walked toward the Diamondbacks dugout before players poured onto the field and relievers ran in from the bullpens.

"Everything happened so fast," Mattingly said. "It just gets a little crazy out there."

Former major league All-Stars rolling on the turf like kids. Crazy indeed.