Padres closer Robert Suarez had his suspension for hitting Los Angeles Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani reduced by a single game on Tuesday night.
Suarez was initially hit with a three-game suspension and an undisclosed fine from the league after he drilled Ohtani in the shoulder last Thursday, which came after a bench-clearing brawl that saw both managers ejected. Suarez dropped his appeal on Tuesday after his suspension was reduced to two games, according to The Athletic.
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The incident started after Dodgers rookie Jack Little hit Padres star Fernando Tatis Jr. in the wrist. That sparked a huge brawl, which came at the end of an already-heated four-game series. Both Ohtani and Tatis were hit by pitches earlier in the series just half an inning apart, too.
Both Padres manager Mike Shildt and Dodgers manager Dave Roberts were ejected, and eventually hit with a one-game suspension and a fine.
Then, with the Padres up by three runs in the bottom of the inning, Suarez hit Ohtani. That nearly sparked another incident, but Ohtani waved everyone off. Suarez was immediately tossed.
MLB called Suarez’s pitch intentional when handing down his initial suspension, which he insisted wasn’t the case.
“I was just coming in to close out that game,” Suarez said through an interpreter on Friday, via The Athletic. “I was never trying to run into trouble or hit anybody. Unfortunately, it happened, I got ejected and I couldn’t finish out the game.”
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X-rays on Tatis’ wrist came back negative after the game, too, and he returned to the lineup the next night.
Now, with Suarez’s appeal over, the incident is nearly behind him. He could start serving his suspension as soon as Wednesday, when the Padres wrap up a three-game series against the Washington Nationals. If that’s the case, he’ll be eligible to return on Saturday for their second game against the Cincinnati Reds.
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