Four days after a game that saw three players hit by a pitch and four people ejected, the storylines have not ended. Boston Red Sox starter Brandon Workman, who was ejected from the game after throwing at Tampa Bay Rays’ third baseman Evan Longoria, has been issued a six-game suspension from Major League Baseball. He was also fined an undisclosed amount.
Workman will appeal the suspension. As the appeal is being processed, he will continue to play.
Workman’s pitch was thrown behind Longoria, and it is believed that the throw was aimed at Longoria’s head.
This throw was retaliation for Rays’ starter David Price hitting Red Sox designated hitter David Ortiz in the first inning and first baseman Mike Carp in the fourth. Ortiz was hit in the hip, and Carp took the pitch to the arm, reports The AP.
Immediately following the pitch Price hit Ortiz with, home plate umpire Dan Bellino issued a warning to Price and to both teams. However, Price was neither ejected from the game nor suspended.
"I guess the rules aren't for everyone; I don't think what they're doing is fair,” Ortiz said, according to ESPN Boston. "I thought the rule was for everybody. I thought that the minute you figure someone hit someone on purpose -- the rule says it right there -- you're going to follow up with it. In this case, it seems they ain't.”
Price is figured to have hit Ortiz on purpose as a response to Ortiz’s two-home-run performance off him in the playoffs last fall.
Workman, who has pitched 16 2/3 innings this year, has made five appearance for the Red Sox. He has not recorded any wins or losses but posts as 3.24 ERA, reports CBSSports.com. His next scheduled start is Wednesday in Cleveland.