Joe Kelly sticks out tongue leading to benches clearing

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The Joe Kelly Fight Club almost made a return Tuesday night.

The former Red Sox pitcher, who endeared himself to New England baseball fans by plunking Tyler Austin of the Yankees and then taking down the hitter after being charged, set social media on fire Tuesday night with his latest round of on-field bravado.

Benches cleared during the Dodgers game in Houston against the Astros after Kelly stuck his tongue out at Carlos Correa following a swinging third strike.

Joe Kelly is the hero we all needed pic.twitter.com/blbUeGuOmP

— 2020 Astros Shame Tour (@AsteriskTour) July 29, 2020

Earlier in the at-bat, the reliever threw behind the head of Correa on a changeup before coming back to fan the All-Star on curveballs and sliders. After the final pitch, Kelly could be seen yelling in saying, "That (expletive) is easy. (Expletive) easy."

Correa responded with, "Throw your fastball, (expletive)."

Kelly yelled back: "Yeah, I'm going to throw my fastball right down the middle for you."

At this point, both benches emptied, with each team clearly hesitant to engage in any physical contact.

After the game, Houston manager Dusty Baker offered some more clarity regarding what most upset the Astros after the swinging third strike from Correa.

"What really enraged everybody ... is when he told him: 'Nice swing (expletive),'" Baker said. "What are you supposed to do then?"

Joe Kelly throws at Bregman and mocks Correa, a breakdown pic.twitter.com/jAwjXhCuLG

— Jomboy (@Jomboy_) July 29, 2020

Prior to Correa's at-bat, Kelly had thrown a 96 mph, 3-0 fastball behind Alex Bregman's head with the Dodgers carrying a three-run lead with one out in the sixth inning. Immediately after the pitch, the reliever could be seen yawning.

It was likely no coincidence that this sort of incident took place considering it marked the first time the two clubs have faced each other since it was determined the Astros had cheated on their way to beating Los Angeles in the 2017 World Series.

Kelly denied the scenario was born from any sort of retribution.

“It’s one of those things that I pitch competitively. And with no fans here it’s easy to hear some stuff,” Kelly said after the game. “Something apparently they didn’t take too kind to. I mean, my accuracy isn’t the best. I broke my window with my newborns coming, two days before they were born.”

Here is your broken window explanation (courtesy the @Bradfo_Sho) ... https://t.co/z6LESHaYPv pic.twitter.com/CN36InaHxD

— Rob Bradford (@bradfo) April 16, 2020

 

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