NEW YORK — Rockies third baseman Nolan Arenado has been suspended five games for charging the mound after Luis Perdomo threw a pitch behind his back, inciting a benches-clearing brawl during Wednesday’s game against the San Diego Padres.
Major League Baseball announced Friday that Perdomo was also suspended five games for intentionally throwing at the All-Star third baseman.
"Five games is a lot of games," Arenado said before Friday night’s game. "I just defended myself."
Rockies outfielder Gerardo Parra was suspended four games for fighting.
Arenado and Parra appealed their suspensions, allowing them to play for Colorado against the Washington Nationals on Friday night.
Padres pitcher Buddy Bauman got a one-game suspension for fighting. The suspended players were also fined.
Padres catcher A.J. Ellis and infielder Freddy Galvis and Rockies right-hander German Marquez were fined but not suspended.
The Padres said Perdomo would not appeal. Baumann was optioned to Triple-A on Thursday, so he’ll serve his suspension the next time he’s up with the big league club.
Arenado swung wildly at Perdomo after he reached the mound, but none of his punches landed squarely.
"It’s hard not to react a certain way when you know someone’s trying to do something on purpose. It is what it is," Arenado said. "Obviously, five games — you don’t want to fight. That’s not why we’re playing this game. But 96 (mph) at you on purpose, you get frustrated."
The brawl came during a tense series that included three batters being hit by pitches before the benches-clearing incident. San Diego’s Manuel Margot was hit first and ended up on the disabled list.
The suspensions were effective Friday, pending appeals by the players. The Padres hosted the San Francisco Giants on Friday night.
[relatedlinks]
