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Jesse Rogers, ESPN Staff Writer
Three Milwaukee Brewers, including manager Pat Murphy, and Tampa Bay Rays outfielder Jose Siri received suspensions for their roles that led to a bench-clearing incident between the two teams in the eighth inning of their game Tuesday night.
Brewers starting pitcher Freddy Peralta received a five-game suspension for intentionally throwing at Siri during the top of the sixth inning of the Brewers’ 8-2 victory while reliever Abner Uribe received six games after he and Siri squared off against each other two innings later.
Siri received a three-game suspension — that was later reduced to two games — while Murphy will miss two games as a result of Peralta’s actions in addition to his inappropriate conduct toward umpires.
All four were also fined.
Siri’s penalty was reduced when he reached an agreement with Major League Baseball after he appealed. He served the first game as the Rays lost 7-1 Wednesday.
Uribe and Peralta appealed to MLB special assistant John McHale Jr., and their discipline remained pending until the appeal is resolved. Later Wednesday, Uribe was optioned to Triple-A Nashville.
Under the rules, managers are not allowed to appeal. Murphy began serving his suspension Wednesday.
Peralta and Murphy were ejected after the right-hander hit Siri on a 3-0 pitch in the sixth. But tempers didn’t flare up until the eighth when Siri and Uribe had words as they crossed paths after the Rays outfielder grounded out to first base. Punches were thrown as both benches cleared before order was restored shortly thereafter.
The animosity between Siri and the Brewers had been building since he took a long look at his solo home run off Peralta in the third inning.
Before Wednesday’s game, Siri revealed a bruise on his left leg that formed after getting hit by the 3-0 fastball from Peralta.
“He was the one who threw first. I don’t think I did anything bad,” Siri said through an interpreter before the suspensions were announced.
Siri said he remained unsure why Uribe took a swing at him.
“When I was in the on-deck circle and he was warming up I felt like he kept looking over at me and staring at me, so I just had that feeling,” Siri said. “Obviously, when I went to first base, I confirmed that he had a problem with me.”
Siri stressed Wednesday he has no dispute with Peralta.
“I never really had a problem with Peralta. Never have,” he said. “He hit me, and I just went to first base.”
Siri said celebrations by pitchers and batters alike are part of the game but insisted that he wasn’t trying to show up Peralta.
“I don’t think I did anything wrong,” he said. “I stood there. I didn’t look at it. I put my head down and just ran.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Source: www.espn.com