Mattingly, Hale smooth things over

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Thursday, April 2, 2015

The latest feud between the Dodgers and Diamondbacks has been settled -- according to the teams' managers.

Dodgers skipper Don Mattingly and his counterpart Chip Hale of the D-backs had an extended conversation at home plate while exchanging lineup cards prior to Monday's game. The chat came a week after both teams were warned after players on both teams were hit by pitches.

"We just talked because that whole situation that got out of hand over there in Glendale, he was really great about saying, 'Hey, the baseball game is the most important thing' and if there was anything they did or anything we did, that was out of line he apologized, and I said the same thing," Hale told ArizonaSports.com. "We just want to play ball. We have such good teams and we want good competition, don't want anything else involved with it."

The warnings came after the Dodgers righty Chris Anderson hit Mark Trumbo with a pitch in the top half of the first inning and Daniel Hudson of the D-backs hit Justin Turner in the bottom half of the first.

"It was really precipitated because of the past," Hale told MLB.com in explaining the warnings. "Their pitcher was a young guy, the ball was getting away from him, and Huddy was just pitching in, and the ball just ran."

The teams have been involved in a number of on-field conflicts over the years. There was also the controversy when the Dodgers clinched the 2013 NL West title at Chase Field and celebrated in the ballpark's pool beyond the fence.

"With the Dodgers and Diamondbacks, it's gotten to be too much of people wanting to read into it," Hale said. "We can't get between anyone's ears. So Don was just saying, 'Listen, this is ridiculous, let's just play ball.'

"We're both sorry if there's any issues. There shouldn't be."

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