Carlos Quentin of the San Diego Padres charged the mound in the sixth inning of a 3-2 loss after being plunked by Dodgers starter Zack Greinke. With a full count, in a one-run game, it would appear unlikely that Greinke would purposefully bury a pitch in Quentin's flesh, but in Quentin's mind that was the case.
The Padres outfielder raced toward the mound and lowered his shoulder like a fullback laying into a linebacker. Greinke lowered his shoulder and braced for impact, but the larger Quentin won the battle, and left Greinke with a broken collarbone that will leave him on the disabled list for six to eight weeks.
Benches cleared and ejections to Quentin, Greinke, Jerry Hairston Jr. and Matt Kemp were issued.
"He [Quentin] caused the whole thing," fumed Dodgers manager Don Mattingly. "Nothing happens if he goes to first base like in baseball you know you do, because you know he's not throwing at you 3-2 in a 2-1 game. That's zero understanding of the game of baseball. He shouldn't play a game until Greinke can pitch."
Dodgers' outfielder and best player Matt Kemp, was seen shouting expletives uncontrollably at Quentin and his teammates as the skirmish was getting broken up. Following the game, Kemp escalated the situation even further, going after Quentin in a Petco Park hallway and threatening him by saying, "We'll see b---h."
Kemp had more to say to reporters after the game. "I think Carlos Quentin went to Stanford. I heard there's some smart people at Stanford. That wasn't too smart."
Greinke insisted that he was not trying to hit Quentin. Quentin obviously disagreed, having been hit twice before by Greinke as a member of the White Sox when Greinke pitched for the Royals.
The game itself was a close affair, with the Dodgers pulling out a 3-2 win on the strength of an eighth inning solo shot by Juan Uribe. Adrian Gonzalez also hit his first home run of the season in the first, off of Padres starter Jason Marquis.
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