Cardinals Vs. Dodgers Fight: Benches Clear In First Game Of Post Season In Los Angeles [VIDEO]

LOS ANGELES - There was Latino heat at Chavez Ravine on Friday night as the Dodgers and Cardinals reignited their rivalry from last year’s NLCS with a benches clearing brawl. In the third inning of game one of the NLDS at Dodgers Stadium, St. Louis’s ace, Adam Wainwright, hit Yasiel Puig on the shoulder with a fastball.

Unlike the last fight at Dodgers Stadium which involved Puig charging at Giants starter, Madison Bumgarner, Puig did not incite the fight on Friday. Instead, it was Latino superstars, Adrian Gonzalez and Cardinals catcher, Yadier Molina. Gonzalez (who was up to bat next), immediately walked up to Molina as Puig was half way to first base and said, “You guys keep doing this over and over. We’re not going to put up with that.” According to Gonzalez, Molina responded by yelling at Gonzalez, “you have to respect me!”

The two Latino sluggers got in each other’s faces and had to be held back by the umpire and teammates as it appeared the two were about to come to blows. No punches were thrown however, and eventually Wainwright apologized to Puig. The clash of Titans (no pun intended), was enough to heat up this classic post season rivalry as the Cardinals eliminated the Dodgers from the playoffs last season, igniting a war of words around Gonzalez in the process.

Last year, in game 1 in St. Louis, Hanley Ramirez fractured a rib when he was hit by a Joe Kelly fastball. Ramirez missed 2 of the next 5 games and was never the same as the Dodgers chances of the winning the series diminished. In game 3 of that series, Gonzalez doubled off Wainwright and threw his hands up in the air in order to pump up his teammates. After the game, Wainwright called Gonzalez’s celebration, “Mickey Mouse,” and a war of the words between both players and fans began.

The rivalry between two of baseball’s historic franchises now enters into second gear as the “Hollywood Dodgers” lost to the “Classic Cardinals” 10-9 on Friday to give St. Louis a 1-0 series lead. After the brawl, the Dodgers jumped on Wainwright scoring 6 runs over the next three innings, taking a 6-1 lead into the 6^th inning with ace and MVP-candidate, Clayton Kershaw on the mound. Kershaw collapsed in the 7^th, giving up 6 earned runs in a nightmare inning. Game two is on Saturday and first pitch is scheduled for 9:37PM EST.