Dodgers' Pollock unhappy with Kelly's suspension: 'No one got hit'
Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder A.J. Pollock voiced his displeasure with MLB's decision to suspend reliever Joe Kelly eight games for his role in a benches-clearing incident against the Houston Astros on Tuesday.
"When a pitcher's on the mound, guys get hit, stuff happens. No one got hit," Pollock said, according to J.P. Hoornstra of the Southern California News Group. "They're trying to find some intent, and that's really hard to find. This game has policed itself for so many years. You hope that teams are all being treated equally. I don't know if (commissioner Rob Manfred) is doing that.
"For me personally, most baseball guys that are true baseball guys would say that's outrageous. ... It didn't seem right to me, and especially with what happened with the Astros, there's been no suspensions on that end. It's just bizarre. I don't think anyone's too happy about it. We're hoping that gets significantly reduced because eight games in a 60-game season is outrageous."
Kelly, who is appealing the suspension, walked Alex Bregman on four pitches, including a 3-0 offering that flew behind the Astros third baseman. Later in the inning, Carlos Correa had to duck out of the way of a slider. After striking out the shortstop, Kelly walked off the mound taunting Correa, causing the benches to empty onto the field.
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts was also suspended for Wednesday's game, while Astros skipper Dusty Baker was fined.
Major League Baseball investigated the Astros this past offseason and concluded they stole signs in 2017 - the year they beat the Dodgers in the World Series - and into 2018. No players were suspended, as the league granted them immunity on the condition of their testimony, but manager AJ Hinch and general manager Jeff Luhnow were each hit with a one-year ban and subsequently fired.
The Dodgers swept the two-game set - the teams' first meeting since the scandal was uncovered. They're scheduled to meet again for another two-game series - this time at Dodger Stadium - beginning Sept. 12.