MLB suspends Buck Showalter, Yoan Lopez for throwing at Phillies' Kyle Schwarber
NEW YORK — The New York Mets were without their manager for Monday's series opener against the Atlanta Braves.
Major League Baseball suspended Buck Showalter for a game and fined him an undisclosed amount after it deemed that Yoan Lopez had intentionally thrown at the Phillies' Kyle Schwarber during the ninth inning of Sunday night's game.
After collecting three hits and a pair of home runs in his first three at-bats Sunday, Schwarber was dealt back-to-back inside fastballs by Lopez, who was warned. In the next at-bat, Alec Bohm was hit by a changeup but it was deemed unintentional.
Showalter said he did not learn the news until 50 minutes before first pitch and believed general manager Billy Eppler was joking.
"You're trying to create an environment where you don't have to walk into the locker room at 6:20 and tell them, 'Go get em," and then go down and tell the coaching staff to change everything," Showalter said Tuesday. "I don't know if competitively speaking if the timing was fair for the New York Mets."
The Mets have been hit by 21 pitches entering Tuesday's game, which leads MLB.
It’s funny. We’re the guys that have been hit and we’re the ones getting punished," Showalter said. "It’s kind of strange. I have some personal, private thoughts about it that probably doesn’t do anybody any good to air. It’s not fair for our players. I can deal with it."
Lopez, who was optioned to Triple-A on Monday, was suspended for three games and also fined an undisclosed amount. If he does not appeal, he will begin serving that suspension when he is called up to the majors.
It is the second time that Lopez has received punishment in the last week after he received a fine stemming from the team's brawl with the Cardinals last Wednesday.
Bench coach Glenn Sherlock stepped into the manager's role for Monday's game.
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Andrew Tredinnick is the Mets beat writer for NorthJersey.com. For unlimited access to all Mets analysis, news, trades and more, please subscribe today and download our app.
Email: atredinnick@gannett.com Twitter: @andrew_tred
This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Buck Showalter: NY Mets manager suspension with Yoan Lopez
