HOUSTON (SportsRadio 610) -- It wasn't the first time Astros manager Dusty Baker had seen Joe Kelly involved in a skirmish.
The Dodgers reliever was a member of the Boston Red Sox's World Series team in 2018 and helped orchestrate a benches-clearing brawl with the New York Yankees earlier that year after plunking infielder Tyler Austin.
Baker, however, wasn't expecting Kelly to throw a 96 mph fastball toward Alex Bregman's head on a 3-0 count, as he did in the sixth inning of Tuesday night's game.
Astros pitcher Lance McCullers said Wednesday he and teammates knew going into the game that Kelly "likes to go off script."
That's exactly what it appears Kelly did with pitches close to hitting Bregman, Yuli Gurriel and Carlos Correa, who he eventually struck out with a curveball.
Kelly then said, "nice swing, b----" to Correa, which led to a stare down, an exchange of words, and the benches clearing.
"Joe Kelly threw a ball behind Bregman's head on 3-0 on purpose. Not only did he take it upon himself, I guess send a message, he wasn't even part of the team during that season," McCullers said. "It is what it is. It was done unprofessionally. What he did after he punched out Correa was unprofessional. Running into the dugout was unprofessional. So, it is what it is. We just want to play baseball. We just want to win."
Baker said Wednesday afternoon he still hadn't heard from Major League Baseball about the incident.
Later in the afternoon, Kelly was suspended for eight games and Dodgers manager Dave Roberts was suspended for one game.
Baker was also fined.