After hosting the San Francisco Giants in the opening series of the regular season, the Los Angeles Dodgers hit the road for a highly anticipated matchup against the Houston Astros at Minute Maid Park.
The two-game set marked L.A.’s first time at the ballpark since Game 5 of the 2017 World Series. More importantly, it was the first meeting between the teams since the Astros were found guilty of electronically stealing signs en route to defeating the Dodgers in the Fall Classic.
The Dodgers held nothing back during Spring Training when discussing the Astros’ scandal, but downplayed any added significance to the series. Nonetheless, fireworks sparked in the opener when Joe Kelly sailed a fastball over Alex Bregman’s head.
The right-hander then backed up both Yuli Gurriel and Carlos Correa with breaking balls. He managed to strike out the latter to end the inning, and the two exchanged glares, leading to both benches clearing.
While walking off the mound, Kelly made a mocking facial expression to Correa that went viral. He described the origins of the pouty face during a recent appearance on the “Big Swing Podcast”:
“Honestly, it’s a face that wife gives me. Sometimes I complain a little bit too much. If I get a cold, if I have a headache, I’m very vocal. I don’t take it as I’m dying, but I just say that very loud. So she’ll give me a ‘boo hoo’ face like ‘Oh you’re so sick. You need help. Want me to make you soup? It’s so tough for you.’
“When Carlos is chirping back at me, the ‘boo hoo face’ felt right because it just sounded like he was complaining, so I was like, ‘Ah boo hoo.’ For me it sounded like a bunch of whining, so now I know exactly what my wife feels like. So I’m going to stop whining because I didn’t like the whining and now I know she doesn’t like the whining.”
While nothing more came of the incident, MLB handed Kelly an eight-game ban. He appealed and it was ultimately reduced to five games, which Kelly finished serving in September.
Kelly visits pouty face mural at Floyd’s in L.A.
Kelly’s pouty face became a hit with Dodgers fans, prompting Jonas Never to capture the expression in a mural on the side of Floyd’s Barbershop in Silverlake.
Kelly, alongside his wife and children, posed for a photo next to the mural in September.
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