Gene J. Puskar/Associated Press
Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Chris Archer has been suspended five games for sparking a benches-clearing brawl by throwing behind Cincinnati Reds first baseman Derek Dietrich on Sunday. Reds outfielder Yasiel Puig (two games) and manager David Bell (one) were also disciplined for their actions in the altercation.
MLB Communications announced that Puig and Bell will begin serving their suspensions Tuesday, while Archer’s ban is subject to appeal:
MLB Communications @MLB_PR
Pirates pitcher Chris Archer and Reds outfielder Yasiel Puig, as well as manager David Bell, have been suspended for their roles in bench-clearing incident between @Reds and @Pirates on Sunday. https://t.co/Nejj1d9to7
All three were fined an undisclosed amount of money.
Bad blood appeared to be brewing when Dietrich launched an Archer offering and proceeded to take a few seconds to watch it sail out of PNC Park and into the river:
It appeared as though Pirates catcher Francisco Cervelli had some words for Dietrich as he completed his trip around the bases. Archer also appeared to stare down Dietrich for admiring his work.
Two innings later, Archer sent Dietrich a message with a pitch behind him, and then things spiraled out of control as home plate umpire Jeff Kellogg issued warnings:
Pittsburgh pitchers Felipe Vazquez and Keone Kela were also ejected, as well as Cincinnati reliever Amir Garrett. None of the them received further discipline, though.
Archer—who was not ejected—later denied intentionally throwing at Dietrich, according to MLB.com’s Adam Berry and Jake Crouse, saying he “yanked” the pitch and “missed my spot.”
Bell—who is just nine games into his managerial career—believed there was intent behind the pitch, per Berry and Crouse:
“Any time another team or another player is intentionally trying to hurt one of our players, that’s the problem. It’s that simple. It’s unacceptable, and we’ll always stick up for our players no matter what.
“When you hit a home run, you’re allowed to run around the bases any way you want. It’s unacceptable and unfortunate that that happened. It should never happen … for any reason. It’s completely—it shouldn’t be part of the game. It shouldn’t be allowed.”
C. Trent Rosecrans of The Athletic pointed out that Dietrich and Archer may have had a history dating back to their days with their respective Florida franchises. On July 22, 2018, Archer (then with the Tampa Bay Rays) struck out Dietrich (then with the Miami Marlins) and celebrated enthusiastically as he hopped off the mound on his way to the dugout.
While Archer and the Pirates denied intentionally throwing at Dietrich, Vazquez did say the Reds player’s gaze was a “little too much,” per Berry and Crouse: “You’re not supposed to do that.”
Dietrich, meanwhile, was not ejected and later sent another ball into the water in the eighth. That homer did not result in any incident.
from Viral News Show http://bit.ly/2Gc6fNu
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