Don Mattingly, Dan Straily receive suspensions after beanball incident
Major League Baseball has handed down suspensions for the Miami Marlins-San Francisco Giants beanball war, and their ruling should make one team extremely happy.
No member of the Giants was suspended for the incident. The Marlins, however, lost two members of their organization.
Which members of the Marlins were suspended?
Marlins pitcher Dan Straily received a five-game suspension from the league for throwing at Buster Posey. Straily is slated to start Friday, but could still make that appearance since he’s appealing the suspension. MLB will not enforce the suspension until they hear Straily’s appeal.
Marlins manager Don Mattingly also got suspended one game. Mattingly guaranteed himself a suspension after allegedly telling Posey, “You’re next” after Lewis Brinson got hit with a pitch in the top of the second inning.
Why did the beanball war start?
The Marlins and Giants engaged in a beanball war. The Giants kicked things off after Dereck Rodriguez — son of Ivan “Pudge” Rodriguez — hit outfielder Lewis Brinson with a pitch Tuesday. Brinson and Giants closer Hunter Strickland exchanged words Monday night, which is why Brinson got hit Tuesday.
Both teams were warned after Brinson got hit, but that didn’t stop the Marlins from retaliating. As Mattingly promised, Posey got it next. Straily hit him with a pitch in the bottom of the second inning.
Both Straily and Mattingly were ejected from the contest.
Why didn’t any Giants get suspended?
It’s curious that no members of the Giants were suspended for the incident. That’s likely because the team acted first, before warnings were issued. That’s sure to wrinkle some feathers, especially considering Strickland seems to be one of the main instigators.
What will happen with the Giants and Marlins going forward?
Mattingly will likely serve his suspension quickly. Straily will probably pitch Friday, but then drop his appeal and serve his suspension.
If there’s anything more to come from this situation, we’ll have to wait until 2019 to see it. The Giants and Marlins won’t play each other again this year unless they meet in the playoffs. That seems pretty unlikely.
– – – – – – –
Chris Cwik is a writer for Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at christophercwik@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @Chris_Cwik
More from Yahoo Sports:
• Report: Teammates were fed up with Dwight Howard
• Phil Mickelson apologizes for U.S. Open actions
• Flying hot dog lands Phillies fan in hospital
• Schaerlaeckens: Mexico fans need to put a stop to offensive chant
