Baltimore Orioles third baseman Manny Machado received a four-game suspension for fighting Royals starting pitcher Yordano Ventura on Tuesday.
With a .303 batting average, and occasionally supernatural defensive skills, Machado is one of the last players you’d want missing games right now.
Machado is appealing the decision. That will probably come to nothing, but it will keep him playing for now.
For intentionally hitting Machado with a 99 mph fastball, Ventura was hit with a nine-game suspension, which will only cause him to miss two starts. The only consolation I can find is seeing Orioles manager Buck Showalter grumble his support of Machado.
“It’s just kind of tough when you have to play short because of something that someone else kind of got going,” Showalter said before Thursday night’s game against the Toronto Blue Jays.
