Braves pitcher Kevin Gausman received a five-game suspension and an undisclosed fine from Major League Baseball for throwing at Marlins pitcher Jose Urena in Friday’s game in Miami.
Gausman plans to appeal, which allowed him to make his scheduled start Monday night in Los Angeles — where he allowed five runs (three earned) in 4-1/3 innings of a 5-3 loss.
“A little bit of shock,” Gausman said, describing his reaction to the suspension. “Five games. But I’ll appeal it. Hopefully I can get it to four and won’t miss a start.”
During a game last August, Urena intentionally hit Ronald Acuna, prompting a benches-clearing riot and manager Brian Snitker delivering an emotional post-game defense of his eventual Rookie of The Year.
Gausman started for the Braves that night. Friday night was the first time the Braves had faced Urena since, and Gausman opted to retaliate. He was ejected after 28 pitches, letting the Braves start him again Monday and give other starters an extra day of rest.
His suspension falls just one game shy of Urena’s a season ago (six games). The instigator was also fined.
“Well, I figured they would (suspend him),” manager Brian Snitker said. “I saw what happened with Chris Archer (when he was punished). Regardless of if he tried to or not, when you get thrown out for something like that ... it didn’t surprise me.”
The 28-year-old Gausman owns a 4.83 ERA with 34 strikeouts over his first 31-2/3 innings (six starts).
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