Posted on June 19, 2016 by Bryan Zarpentine
Image via washingtonpost.com
Nearly two weeks after the benches clearing brawl between the Baltimore Orioles and Kansas City Royals that revolved around Manny Machado charging Yordano Ventura after getting hit by a fastball, the two players will finally start serving their suspensions. Ventura sat out Saturday’s for the Royals, the first of eight games he will miss. Meanwhile, Machado will begin his four-game suspension on Sunday during Baltimore’s series finale against the Toronto Blue Jays.
Ventura, who hit Machado on June 7 after a couple of inside pitches earlier in the game, was originally handed a nine-game suspension, but after the appeals process will only serve eight. He last pitched Friday night, throwing 6.1 scoreless innings against the Detroit Tigers, earning his sixth win of the season. He will be eligible to return on June 28 against the St. Louis Cardinals, although it’s unclear if he will start that game. After pitching Friday night, Ventura’s eight-game suspension amounts to having his turn in the rotation being skipped once.
As for Machado, he dropped his appeal on Saturday and will start serving his four games on Sunday. He will miss Sunday’s rubber game against the Blue Jays, a rain make up against the Texas Rangers on Monday and a two-game set against the San Diego Padres. Machado will be eligible to return Friday night when the Orioles open a series against the Tampa Bay Rays.
“I think MLB felt it was fair what they gave me, and I don’t think they were going to get it down, which is, I mean, it’s their opinion against mine,” Machado explained about dropping his appeal. “We’ve got this process. It’s done and over. I’ll sit down for the four games and be ready to help this team get to the playoffs.” He added that he’s eager to “just get this past us already and keep playing baseball.”
However, Machado did complain Saturday about his suspension compared to the one Ventura received. “It’s not right that he’s going to be missing one start and I’m going to be missing four games. I mean, this whole problem started with him, so why do I get four and he gets one?” Machado added, “I’m getting penalized for something that someone else does.”
When Machado sits on Sunday, it will end his streak of 229 consecutive games started, which is currently the longest in the majors. “I’ll start a new streak Friday,” Machado pledges.
The Orioles and Royals, rather Ventura and Machado, are not scheduled to see one another again this season, unless the two meet in the playoffs. With Baltimore currently leading the AL East and Kansas City a half game behind in the AL Central and the second wild card spot, it’s not impossible for the two to meet again in 2016.
