Major League Baseball just announced that Cincinnati Reds pitcher Ross Ohlendorf has received a three-game suspension and an undisclosed fine for intentionally throwing a pitch at David Freese of the Pittsburgh Pirates during Wednesday night’s game.
The game on Wednesday night was kind of a mess of plunkings and ejections. Ohlendorf’s plunking of Freese as the fourth time in the game a Pirates batter had been hit. Two Reds batters had been hit. Warnings had been issued previously. As C. Trent Rosecrans noted in his gamer in the Cincinnati Enquirer the other night, the Reds and Pirates are notorious for throwing at one another in recent years, with pitchers on each team hitting batters on the other 39 times over the past four seasons. Must be something in the air along the Ohio River.
In addition, Reds manager Bryan Price has received a one-game suspension and an undisclosed fine for the intentional actions of Ohlendorf while warnings were in place, which is the price Price has to pay for it happening on his watch. He will sit out tonight, as managers don’t get to appeal. Ohlendorf is appealing his, so he’ll be available if necessary.