With the Los Angeles Dodgers and San Francisco Giants beginning a three-game series Friday night, Yasiel Puig and Madison Bumgarner will face each other for the first time since exchanging words at Dodger Stadium.
While there appears to he bad blood between Bumgarner and Puig — they’ve been involved in three confrontations — Dodgers manager Dave Roberts isn’t expecting a repeat in the series opener at AT&T Park.
“(It was) heat of the moment, tempers flared a little bit. Bumgarner is very emotional, obviously,” Roberts said.
“I think after the T-shirts and sending it over to their clubhouse, they may have shared a drink together or something. I don’t know.”
Bumgarner said after the Sept. 19 contest that he felt Puig initiated the confrontation. Roberts and several of Puig’s teammates put the blame on Bumgarner.
What is clear is Bumgarner was removed after the incident, and the Dodgers mounted a comeback victory. The left-hander held Los Angeles scoreless over seven innings and had 10 strikeouts. The altercation spawned ‘#DONTLOOKATME’ T-shirts in the Dodgers clubhouse, and Puig sent an autographed one to Bumgarner.
Roberts admired Puig’s ability to put the incident behind him and extend an “olive branch” to Bumgarner. Puig is batting fourth in the Dodgers’ lineup on Friday night. He’s a career 8-for-32 with one double, two home runs and two RBI against the Giants’ ace.
