Major League Baseball suspended San Diego Padres right-handed pitcher Robert Suarez for three games Friday, while Padres manager Mike Shildt and Los Angeles Dodgers manager Dave Roberts received one-game suspensions following the conclusion of a feisty four-game series between the teams this week.
Suarez was given his ban, along with an undisclosed fine, for intentionally hitting Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani with a pitch in the bottom of the ninth Thursday night. It was in response to Dodgers rookie Jack Little hitting Padres star Fernando Tatis Jr. with a pitch in the top of that inning, which prompted a benches-clearing incident with pushing and shoving.
Shildt and Roberts were suspended and fined undisclosed amounts “for unsportsmanlike conduct and for contributing to inciting the benches-clearing incident.” No other players received discipline, however.
Suarez is appealing his suspension. The managers, though, must serve theirs tonight when the Dodgers welcome the Washington Nationals and the Padres host the Kansas City Royals.
The bad blood between the local rivals began to bubble up Tuesday during the second game of the four-game set. Los Angeles’ Lou Trivino hit Tatis with a pitch, and Padres starter Randy Vasquez did the same to Ohtani soon after. Roberts was ejected from the game for arguing an umpire’s warning.
On Thursday night, after Tatis got plunked on the hand in a game the Padres led 5-0 at the time, Shildt shouted something toward the Dodgers’ dugout and Roberts ran out to confront him, prompting players to follow. Roberts shoved Shildt during the incident.
“We got a guy who’s getting X-rays right now, is one of the best players in the game, fortunately on our team, and this guy has taken shots, OK?” Shildt told reporters afterward, referring to Tatis. “And before this series, and I can back this up with complete evidence, the track records speak for themselves — teams that I manage don’t get into altercations like this because teams that I manage don’t throw at people.
“But also, teams I manage don’t take anything. And after a while, I’m not going to take it. And I’m not going to take it on behalf of Tati, I’m not going to take it on behalf of the team, intentional or unintentional. It’s really that simple.”
–Field Level Media
