It was a moment of indiscretion. The date was June 11, 2013 when Arizona Diamondbacks ace Ian Kennedy threw a 92 MPH fastball high and tight to newly arrived Dodgers superstar outfielder Yasiel Puig. Although it is debatable whether Kennedy was intentionally trying to hit Puig or not (well, debatable among Dbacks fans maybe), it did hit him – on the nose. Fortunately it was a glancing blow that caused no injury but had been a fraction of an inch more inside, it could have caused serious injury or even death. But alas, Puig simply took his base.

And then Dodgers right-hander Zack Greinke did exactly what he was supposed to do – he hit Dbacks catcher Miguel Montero (who had obviously called for the inside pitch on Puig) “on the wallet,” as Vin Scully calls it; a non-dangerous pitch on the butt. That was it, tit for tat, you hit us we hit you back, that’s it, end of story – or at least it should have been. But instead, when Greinke stepped to the plate in the bottom of the inning, Kennedy intentionally hit Zack – on the helmet; and the benches erupted into a brawl of epic proportion.

When the dust settled, suspensions and fines were handed out with Kennedy rightfully receiving the harshest penalty – a 10-game suspension which amounted to missing only two starts. But what Ian Kennedy didn’t realize at the time is that he turned a lackluster last place Dodgers team into a fire-breathing dragon – a team that only days later would go on a historic 42-8 run and would end up winning the NL West by 11 games … over the Dbacks.

Well guess what happened during last night’s Dodgers/Giants game at Dodger Stadium? No, it wasn’t an intentional hit by pitch, although it very easily could have led to that, and there wasn’t a benches-clearing brawl (ditto). It was a moment of indiscretion that very well might be the spark that the Dodgers needed to ignite a flame under them and get them going.

As you might have expected, it involved Yasiel Puig who launched a Madison Bumgarner fastball deep over the centerfield wall for a solo home run in the bottom of the 6th inning. After his signature Yasiel Puig bat flip, which was in no way excessive nor was it done to show up Bumgarner or anyone else, Puig began his home run trot around the bases. For reasons only he knows, rather than simply tipping his hat to Puig for getting the better of him, Bumgarner approached the third base line as Puig was rounding the bag and began giving him some lip.

“It surprised me a little bit that he was there after I hit the home run,” said Puig after the game through an interpreter. “I may have done something that he didn’t like, but from my perspective it’s just part of the game.”

Giants left-hander Madison Bumgarner may come to regret mouthing off to Yasiel Puig after the Dodgers right fielder took him deep on Friday night. (Photo credit – Ron Cervenka)

Seeing Bumgarner’s unusual actions, the umpires quickly moved in and took control of the potentially volatile situation without further incident – well, except for Giants catcher Buster Posey saying something to Puig as he stepped on home plate.

“He said something like ‘Leave it … let it go,'” said Puig of Posey’s comment.

It seems that Giants catcher Buster Posey was giving his “Leave it … let it go” advice to the wrong guy.
(Photo credit – Ron Cervenka)

That was it. There was no retaliation, no hit batsmen, no brush back or knockdown pitches, nor should there have been – because no matter how many time you look at the replay, Puig did absolutely nothing wrong.

“It always surprises me when guys react to things when their team does the same type stuff,” said Dodgers manager Don Mattingly of Bumgarner’s little hissy fit. “It’s always the double standard.”

Unfortunately for the Giants, there is every indication that Bumgarner’s moment of indiscretion might have the exact same effect on the Dodgers that Ian Kennedy’s senseless act did almost a year ago, and it might be exactly the spark that the Dodgers needed to get them going again – just as it did last year.

In the famous words of Japanese Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto shortly after the attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941: “I fear all we have done is to awaken a sleeping giant and fill him with a terrible resolve.”

Thanks Madison.