A combined eight Los Angeles Dodgers and Arizona Diamondbacks players and coaches have been suspended for their actions during a brawl earlier this week that stemmed from a beanball war.
Diamondbacks starter Ian Kennedy earned to longest suspension, 10 games, for hitting Dodgers rookie Yasiel Puig in the face with a pitch, and then throwing at the head of Dodgers starting pitcher Zack Greinke. Diamondbacks bench player Eric Hinske received a five-game suspension for his "aggressive actions" upon leaving the bench to engage in the fight.
Two-game bans were issued to Dodgers players Skip Schumaker and J.P. Howell, as well as Diamondbacks coach Mark McGwire, also for "aggressive actions." One-game suspensions were given to Dodgers reliever Ronald Belisario, Dodgers manager Don Mattingly, and Arizona manager Kirk Gibson as well.
All eight of those men were fined, in addition to Puig, Greinke, Miguel Montero and Gerardo Parra. In addition to the individual fines, the Dodgers organization was fined for allowing players on the disabled list to leave the bench and enter the fray. Players on the disabled list for both Los Angeles and Arizona have been barred from the bench through Sunday.
Kennedy will be hit hardest by the fallout from this incident, as he will now lose two starts in an already disappointing season. He is tied for second in baseball in hit batsmen, with eight. He shares that spot with Justin Masterson of the Cleveland Indians; together, they are four hit batters behind the MLB leader, Doug Fister of the Detroit Tigers.
Kennedy was stellar in 2011, picking up an astounding 21 wins and just four losses, while notching a 2.88 ERA and 1.08 WHIP. He fell in 2012, still managing a 15-12 record with an ERA of 4.02. The production dropped significantly, but he was still an above average MLB starter.
2013 has been an unmitigated disaster for Kennedy, however. He has gone 3-4, his ERA has ballooned to 5.49, and now he's going to miss his next two starts.
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