On Wednesday, Major League Baseball issued suspensions in response to the altercation between the Rays and the Brewers on Tuesday evening. Milwaukee pitchers Freddy Peralta and Abner Uribe received suspensions of five and six games, respectively, while their manager, Pat Murphy, received a two-game suspension. Additionally, Rays outfielder Jose Siri was suspended for three games. Each party was also fined, although the exact amount was not disclosed.
Pat Murphy has commenced serving his suspension as of Wednesday. However, both Milwaukee pitchers are currently appealing their suspensions, according to Curt Hogg of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, while Jose Siri also intends to appeal his suspension, as reported by Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times.
The altercation began when Siri hit a home run off Peralta in the third inning and was subsequently hit by a pitch from him in the sixth, resulting in Peralta’s ejection by the umpires, despite no prior warnings in the game. Murphy objected to Peralta’s ejection and was also ejected from the game.
Later in the eighth inning, when Siri faced Uribe as the pitcher, a confrontation occurred at first base after Siri hit a grounder to Rhys Hoskins, who threw to Uribe for the out. Words were exchanged, leading to physical altercations between Siri and Uribe, resulting in both players being ejected.
Following the game, differing accounts of the incidents were provided by the involved parties. Crew chief Chris Guccione stated that the umpires believed Peralta intentionally threw at Siri, a claim denied by Peralta, who emphasized his lack of prior ejections in his career. Siri denied any excessive celebration of his home run.
Uribe described the exchange at first base as involving non-game-related words, while Siri recounted being struck on the shoulder by Uribe without cause.
While Murphy serves his suspension immediately, the players are appealing their suspensions, which will remain pending until the appeal process concludes. It’s common for players to withdraw their appeal at a convenient time, such as during an unrelated day off.