Kelly blasts 2 late homers, D-backs beat Dodgers 3-2 in 11
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Instead of walking off with another win, the Los Angeles Dodgers walked right out onto the field to confront Archie Bradley.
They were met by Bradley, Robbie Ray and the Arizona Diamondbacks, who had their own complaints about this extra-sensitive extra inning.
Although no punches were thrown in the bench-clearing postgame confrontation, these NL West rivals are well fueled for the rest of the weekend.
Carson Kelly hit a tying two-run homer in the ninth inning and a tiebreaking solo shot in the 11th, propelling the Diamondbacks to a 3-2 comeback victory over the major league-leading Dodgers on Friday night.
But Kelly's first career multi-homer game was overshadowed when both benches cleared after the final out.
After Bradley completed his third save, he shouted and pointed at the players yelling at him from the Dodgers' dugout, sending both teams onto the field for a meeting that stopped just short of a fight.
"As a competitor, you're only going to take so much before you chirp back," Bradley said. "I think it's just competing. I don't care how many games back we are from them. I don't care who it's against. We're trying to win baseball games, and we're going to come out and play with an edge and not take anything from anyone."
The postgame trouble featured Dodgers manager Dave Roberts getting angry with Diamondbacks starter Ray, who came onto the field in shorts.
"I just saw something over there where things were getting defused, and then you see another person that's really trying to instigate, and it's just like, it's not necessary," said Roberts, who claimed he didn't know he was yelling at Ray.
Roberts and Ray were kept at shouting distance, but the confrontation lingered.
"I was just minding my own business," Ray said. "I was out behind everybody, and then I hear someone yell at me. I'm not just going to sit there and take it. I'm not just going to sit there and let you yell at me like that, so if you want to do something about it that's fine. But I'm not going to wear it."
Ray, who threw six innings of stellar two-hit ball, said he was "a little bit" surprised to be in a shouting match with Roberts.
"Maybe it's a fake tough-guy thing that he puts on for his team, but whatever," Ray added. "We won that game."
The trouble started two batters before the final out. Bradley threw an inside pitch that appeared to hit A.J. Pollock on the wrist, but popped into the air and was caught by Kelly for the first out of the 11th. The Dodgers argued that the pitch had hit Pollock, but video review allowed the call on the field to stand.
"They missed it," Roberts said. "That's just the fact. You have a system in place to get it right, and it was clearly wrong. That impacted the game, and very rarely do I say a play impacts the game."
When Pollock eventually left the field, he was shooed off by Bradley, angering the Dodgers. Pollock and Bradley were teammates for the previous four seasons in Arizona, but apparently not pals.
"We're trying to play a game, and he's still standing there arguing," Bradley said. "I just told him to get off the field, and that's when a few guys over there started really chirping, really yelling. I was trying to let them know, 'Hey, I was talking to him. Not y'all.' And then the game ended, and they kept talking."
Pollock was infuriated by the missed call, and annoyed by Bradley's behavior.
"We've got replay," Pollock said. "It's a pretty main part of the game. You should have cameras on the guy at home. We didn't get it. I don't know how they don't get that. ... I'm just walking off. I'm not really excited about their call. I'm not going to sprint off and be all giggly. (Bradley) didn't like that. Tough. Whatever."
Andrew Chafin (2-2) pitched the 10th for the Diamondbacks, who ended the Dodgers' five-game winning streak and earned their fifth victory in six games thanks to Kelly's heroics.
After Kelly drove his tying shot to right off Dodgers closer Kenley Jansen, the catcher improbably added a solo shot to left against Julio Urías (4-3).
Kelly had 14 previous career homers over four big league seasons, but he has been a scourge at Dodger Stadium this year.
He also hit a ninth-inning, go-ahead homer off Jansen on July 3 during an extra-inning win by the Dodgers. Kelly even delivered a pinch-hit RBI double in the 13th inning back on March 29 in the longest regular-season game by time in Dodger Stadium history.
"He's a tremendous closer, has a lot of good stuff," Kelly said. "But I hit one of his mistakes early on, and then got another one tonight. It was pretty simple. Just put the bat on the ball."
Kelly's shot also extended the Diamondbacks' streak to 16 consecutive games with a homer at Dodger Stadium, the longest by an opponent in the building's history.
Los Angeles managed no hits and one baserunner after the third inning while losing for just the second time in 10 games.
Walker Buehler pitched six scoreless innings of four-hit ball, but Jansen blew his fifth save of the season.
Ray recorded seven strikeouts during an outstanding start.
3 MILLION IN BLUE
The Dodgers topped 3 million fans at the earliest point in a season in franchise history when they drew 49,538 to their 62nd home game. The Dodgers have drawn 3 million fans in eight consecutive seasons, and they've done it 33 times since moving to Los Angeles.
TRAINER'S ROOM
Diamondbacks: RHP Luke Weaver threw 10 pitches in his first bullpen session since injuring his elbow in May.
Dodgers: OF Alex Verdugo is likely to be out for two weeks with a strained oblique muscle, Roberts said.
UP NEXT
Kenta Maeda (7-8, 4.37 ERA) comes off his worst start of the season to take another shot at his first victory since May for the Dodgers. Arizona sends out rookie Alex Young (4-1, 2.60 ERA) for his seventh career start.
