Major League Baseball hit two players with lengthy suspensions and fined several others for the bench-clearing brawl that erupted between Yankees and Red Sox players Wednesday night at Fenway Park.
Per CBS Sports, Sox pitcher Joe Kelly received a six-game suspension and was fined an undisclosed amount for intentionally hitting Yankees’ DH Tyler Austin with a pitch and for taking part in the subsequent fight. Austin was suspended for five-games and fined an undisclosed amount for charging the mound and fighting. Also fined were Red Sox manager Alex Cora and Yankees third base coach Phil Nevin.
Yanks pitcher CC Sabathia and Red Sox shortstop Xander Bogaerts, infielder Marco Hernandez and second baseman Dustin Pedroia, all players on the disabled list, were fined an undisclosed amount for entering the field. The suspensions of Kelly and Austin were scheduled to begin Thursday night, but both players have chosen to appeal.
Wednesday night’s fisticuffs were reportedly born out of an earlier slide by Austin, which resulted in him spiking and clipping the lower leg of Boston infielder Brock Holt. Kelly retaliated in Austin’s next at-bat, missing him with his first pitch, then hitting him square on the left shoulder with his next. For his part, Kelly faulted the cold weather for the pitch, insisting it just got away from him. But nobody, which obviously includes MLB officials, bought into that.