In almost a year of pent up emotions after finding out Houston cheated during the 2017 season and postseason, the two-game series against the Astros was rather tame for the Dodgers. The only actions considered vengeful came in the 6th inning of Tuesday’s game when reliever Joe Kelly threw a 96 mph fastball behind Alex Bregman on a three-ball, no-strike count. There were other instances when Joe Kelly lost control of his pitches, causing batters to dodge out of the way, but none as evident of retaliation as the Bregman near-miss. Kelly has a history of being the assumed proverbial hitman. He also has a history of being wild and erratic on the mound.
The 6th inning ended with no Astro getting hit, but it didn’t stop an exchange between Kelly and Carlos Correa that led to both benches clearing their dugouts and storming the field. At the very end, there were no fights, just players jawing at each other. The following morning Dodgers skipper Dave Roberts got a call from the league expressing their displeasure of the incident they felt disregarded essential safety protocols.
Hours after the call, the league handed down an eight-game suspension to Joe Kelly, a one-game suspension to Dave Roberts and an undisclosed fine to Astros manager Dusty Baker. Kelly appealed the suspension and was available for Wednesday’s game while Roberts had to serve his.
The news caused fallout among the media and players around the league, declaring the penalty unjust as well as disproportionate in a 60 game season. To put into context the execessiveness of Kelly’s suspension, the eight games is equivalent to a 21.5 game suspension during a regular 162 game season.
The decision of the appeal will likely see Kelly’s suspension reduced. Until then, he’s still available to pitch tonight against the Diamondbacks.
Clayton Kershaw threw a lengthy bullpen session on Tuesday and will do the same today. Dave Roberts says he could start either Sunday or Monday. At the moment, Walker Buehler would be scheduled to start Sunday. Yesterday, it was reported that Buehler felt fine after going 3.2 innings on Tuesday.
Dave Roberts announced Tony Gonsolin as the starter for Friday. Gonsolin will make his season debut against a struggling Diamondbacks offense that’s tied for the third least runs in baseball and as a team is slashing .202/.280/.275.
The Dodgers announced a couple of roster moves today. Outfielder Terrance Gore was designated for assignment. Gore made the team with the idea of being a pinch-runner, especially in extra-inning situations. The Dodgers signed Gore as a non-roster invite to spring training in February. After the four-month hiatus, he didn’t make the 60 man pool until the very last week of summer camp.
Left-handed pitcher Victor Gonzalez was added to the active roster. He’s been with the team on the road trip as part of the taxi squad. Gonzalez, 24, signed with the Dodgers as an international free agent in 2012. He holds a 4.34 career ERA in 112 minor league games but impressed in 2019 going from Advanced-A ball to AAA and putting up a 2.31 ERA in 38 games.
Four teams won’t play this weekend due to an outbreak of COVID-19 that stemmed from the Marlins at the end of last week. Including Miami, the Phillies, Nationals, and Blue Jays will not play their series against each other this weekend. Those games could be made up with doubleheaders, which the league and the players union have agreed to change starting August 1st. Instead of playing nine-inning games, it’s been decided that doubleheaders will be two seven-inning games. Going past the 7th inning will be considered extra innings and will start with a man on 2nd base.
Oskar is a writer for Dodgers-Lowdown. Follow him on Twitter @2Rawsko94. Photog credit: Karen Warren (Houston Chronicle)