Dodgers plunk Tatis again causing fracas, manager ejections

It had been brewing for a while.

The San Diego Padres and Los Angeles Dodgers stormed the field Thursday night after Dodgers reliever Jack Little plunked Fernando Tatis Jr. on the right hand in the ninth inning. It's the third time the Padres superstar has been hit by a Dodgers pitcher in nine days.

Trenton Brooks entered the game to pinch run for Tatis and played left field in the bottom of the frame.

This was the seventh hit-by-pitch of the series.

While Tatis was on the ground, Padres manager Mike Shildt and Dodgers skipper Dave Roberts seemed to kick off the brouhaha, arguing from afar. Both were ejected.

Postgame X-rays came back negative on Tatis' hand but Shildt said the team is still evaluating the severity of the injury. Shildt added that Tatis got hit in a "tough spot where there's a lot of bones," according to Annie Heilbrunn of the San Diego Union-Tribune. More imaging is scheduled for Friday.

"Let's just hope the CT scan comes back negative," Padres third baseman Manny Machado added, according to Valentina Martinez of Sports Illustrated. "(The Dodgers) gotta pray it comes back negative tomorrow. They better put out a candle."

Shohei Ohtani was later drilled as well in the ninth, representing the eighth HBP of the set. Ohtani shooed his teammates back to the dugout, preventing a second benches-clearing fracas. Padres pitcher Robert Suarez was ejected.

The Padres were ahead 5-0 at the time of the original incident, looking to avoid a four-game sweep at Dodger Stadium.

Despite the Dodgers bringing the winning run to the plate in the bottom of the ninth, the Friars held on for the 5-3 win with Yuki Matsui striking out Dalton Rushing with two runners on to end the game.

The two NL West rivals meet again for a three-game series beginning Aug. 15.