MLB to open next season with Dodgers-Diamondbacks series in Australia

The Dodgers and Diamondbacks will have almost a year to clear the air before they open next season in Australia. (Stephen Dunn/Getty Images)

The Dodgers and Diamondbacks have almost a year to make amends before they kick off the 2014 MLB season in Australia.

The Daily Telegraph reported Wednesday that the Dodgers and Diamondbacks will open the season at the Sydney Cricket Ground in March, "the first time a competitive U.S. baseball fixture will be held in Australia and only the sixth time one has been staged outside America," according to the report.

The series, to be held March 22-23, will come 100 years after the Chicago White Sox played against New South Wales at the Cricket Grounds. Australian Premier Barry O'Farrell said the games will bring in $13 million for the local economy:

"This is a significant win for Sydney and again delivers on my election commitment to bring major events to NSW. It's estimated the matches will deliver a $13 million benefit for the local economy, as well as attract visitors from interstate and overseas."

The news comes a day after Los Angeles and Arizona got into a brawl during a game Tuesday night at Dodger Stadium. Both teams cleared the benches after Dodgers pitcher Zach Greinke was hit in the face facing Ian Kennedy. The incident came in the bottom of the seventh inning with the game tied 2-2. An inning earlier, Dodgers rookie sensation Yasiel Puig was hit in the face by a 92 mile per hour pitch from Kennedy, and then Greinke hit catcher Miguel Montero in the back in the top of the seventh.

Footage of the play can be seen below: