Current:Home > Contact-usAstros' Bryan Abreu suspended after hitting Adolis Garcia, clearing benches in ALCS Game 5-InfoLens
Astros' Bryan Abreu suspended after hitting Adolis Garcia, clearing benches in ALCS Game 5
View Date:2024-12-23 14:17:32
HOUSTON – If Adolis Garcia had simply winced, tossed his bat aside and taken his base, Bryan Abreu might still be eligible to pitch in the American League Championship Series.
Instead, Garcia, the Texas Rangers slugger, got in the face of Houston Astros catcher Martin Maldonado, inciting a benches-clearing incident that resulted in Abreu’s ejection from Game 5 of the ALCS.
Saturday, Abreu learned he’d be suspended for the remainder of the series.
Major League Baseball suspended Abreu for two games, agreeing with the umpiring crew that Abreu threw intentionally at Garcia and taking “into account the dangerous nature of the pitch and its potential impact on player safety.”
Abreu can appeal the suspension and is expected to do so. If the suspension is upheld, Abreu would miss Sunday’s Game 6 and a potential Game 7 – or be out for Game 1 of the World Series. The Astros lead the ALCS 3-2 and can clinch the AL pennant at Minute Maid Park on Sunday.
FOLLOW THE MONEY: MLB player salaries and payrolls for every major league team
Inactive players Lance McCullers and Matt Bush have also been barred from the dugout during games because they left the bench during the incident.
Abreu’s loss is significant for the Astros. He is perhaps their most dominant reliever and typically works the seventh or eighth inning setting up closer Ryan Pressly. Abreu struck out 100 batters in 72 innings and recorded a 1.75 ERA.
Friday’s Game 5 incident occurred after Garcia hit a go-ahead three-run homer off starter Justin Verlander and punctuated it with a bat spike and a deliberate walk down the first base line. Garcia, Maldonado and Rangers second baseman Marcus Semien were also involved in a fracas during a July game.
But the Astros were adamant that Abreu would not intentionally hit Garcia in a playoff game, especially as they trailed 4-2 in the eighth inning of a pivotal game. An inning later, Jose Altuve hit a three-run homer to give the Astros a 5-4 victory.
“I’m the kind of guy, I don’t care about celebrations. That was a big, big moment for him. He got the chance to celebrate, do whatever he wants,” Abreu said after Game 5. "I know that was a really hot moment. OK, I get it. But obviously, you’ve got to give me a warning or something. We’re just trying to compete.
“I didn’t do anything wrong. It meant a lot to me.”
And Garcia obviously inflamed the situation, earning an ejection himself after he jawed at Maldonado and forced home plate umpire Marvin Hudson to wedge himself between them.
Astros manager Dusty Baker, who was also ejected from Game 5 after angrily reacting to Abreu’s dismissal, says he expects tensions may remain high in Sunday’s Game 6. How that manifests, he does not know.
“The players don't want to get into fights and skirmishes. And most of these guys know each other,” Baker said Saturday at Minute Maid Park. “Especially Latin guys are closer than anybody. But when emotions get high – have you ever gotten in an argument with your mom or your dad or your brothers?
“It happens. And you don't script it. It's a spontaneous, combustible reaction that gets out of control.”
veryGood! (58678)
Related
- A pair of Trump officials have defended family separation and ramped-up deportations
- Indian Ocean island of Reunion braces for ‘very dangerous’ storm packing hurricane-strength winds
- As shutdown looms, congressional leaders ready stopgap bill to extend government funding to March
- Taiwan president-elect Lai Ching-te has steered the island toward democracy and away from China
- US inflation may have picked up in October after months of easing
- Fire from Lebanon kills 2 Israeli civilians as the Israel-Hamas war rages for 100th day
- 4 Ukrainian citizens were among those captured when a helicopter went down in Somalia this week
- As Israel-Hamas war reaches 100-day mark, here’s the conflict by numbers
- 24 more monkeys that escaped from a South Carolina lab are recovered unharmed
- Taylor Swift Tackles the Cold During Travis Kelce's AFC Wild Card Game
Ranking
- Footage shows Oklahoma officer throwing 70-year-old to the ground after traffic ticket
- Authorities say 4 people found dead in another suspected drowning of migrants off northern France.
- How long does a hangover last? Here's what you need to know.
- Inside Sarah Paulson and Holland Taylor's Private Romance
- Tom Brady Admits He Screwed Up as a Dad to Kids With Bridget Moynahan and Gisele Bündchen
- Denmark to proclaim a new king as Queen Margrethe signs historic abdication
- Maldives leader says his country’s small size isn’t a license to bully in apparent swipe at India
- Judge orders Trump to pay nearly $400,000 for New York Times' legal fees
Recommendation
-
Beyoncé's Grammy nominations in country categories aren't the first to blur genre lines
-
CVS closing dozens of pharmacies inside Target stores
-
From Best Buy to sex videos, a now-fired university chancellor shares the backstory
-
Maldives leader demands removal of Indian military from the archipelago by mid-March amid spat
-
Tennessee suspect in dozens of rapes is convicted of producing images of child sex abuse
-
See how people are trying to stay warm for Chiefs vs. Dolphins at frigid Arrowhead Stadium
-
Holy Cow! Nordstrom Rack's Weekend Sale Has SKIMS, UGGs & Calvin Klein, up to 88% Off
-
NJ school district faces discrimination probe by US Department of Education