Los Angeles Dodgers reliever Joe Kelly nearly hit two Houston Astros players in the sixth inning of Tuesday night's game, and Major League Baseball was quick to punish him for it.
MLB announced Wednesday it had suspended the former Red Sox pitcher eight games for his actions against the Astros. Eight games in this shortened 60-game season is equivalent to a 22-game suspension in a normal 162-game season. Kelly will appeal the suspension, per the Dodgers. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts also was suspended one game.
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After Kelly struck out Astros shortstop Carlos Correa -- who he almost hit in the head with a pitch -- to end the sixth inning, the two players exchanged words and teammates from both dugouts quickly went on the field.
The Astros are not a well-liked team right now, to say the least. You probably remember that the Astros' elaborate sign-stealing operation during the 2017 season was the biggest story in baseball during the offseason. The league handed down unprecedented punishment to the Astros organization, but no players were suspended. The Dodgers lost to the Astros in Game 7 of the 2017 World Series, so this whole situation is a pretty big deal in Los Angeles.
There was a ton of passionate reaction to Kelly's suspension, and Dodgers fans weren't the only people upset about it.
Here's some notable Twitter reaction to Kelly's eight-game ban.