Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Joe Kelly -- here pitching against the San Francisco Giants -- has had his eight-game suspension for throwing at Astros batters reduced to five games upon appeal. GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA/AFP/File/Katelyn Mulcahy
Kelly was suspended after throwing a fastball behind Alex Bregman’s head in the opening game of a two-game series against Houston on July 28.
He also threw a curveball close to Carlos Correa’s head in the same inning, with Correa insisting it was intentional.
That incident triggered a bench-clearing confrontation in the first meeting between the two teams since Houston were punished for their 2017 sign-stealing scandal.
The Astros beat the Dodgers in seven games in the 2017 World Series, but that victory has since been tainted by revelations that the Astros had used an elaborate system to steal the signs of opposing pitchers using cameras hidden in the outfield.
The scandal stunned the world of baseball, and ultimately led to the suspension and dismissal of general manager Jeff Luhnow and field manager A.J. Hinch.