Seattle Mariners left-handed reliever Gabe Speier received a three-game suspension and an undisclosed fine from Major League Baseball on Thursday.
Speier has elected to file an appeal, therefore his discipline will be held in abeyance.
Also, Seattle manager Dan Wilson received a one-game ban and an undisclosed fine for the action. Wilson will serve his suspension on Thursday, when the Mariners and the Detroit Tigers play the decisive contest of their three-game series in Seattle.
The suspensions come one day after Speier intentionally threw at Gleyber Torres of the Tigers during the eighth inning, per Michael Hill, senior vice president of on-field operations for Major League Baseball. The Speier-Torres altercation came one inning after Mariners slugger Cal Raleigh was hit in the stomach with a pitch.
With two outs in the eighth inning, Speier threw two inside pitches to Torres, the latter hitting him on the left thigh.
Torres had some words with catcher Raleigh as both benches cleared, with relievers running in from the bullpens.
No punches were thrown. The umpires huddled and decided to eject Speier. That enraged Wilson, who argued the call and also was tossed.
“It’s always frustrating when our guy is the guy that gets thrown out and their guy hit somebody and there’s no consequences,” Wilson said. “It was a situation where they felt one way, and I didn’t.”
Not surprisingly, Tigers manager A.J. Hinch felt otherwise.
“From my seat, it just looked like they took two shots at (Torres) so I don’t know intent. They’re going to have to answer the question. I think the back-to-back pitches in a weird spot created a lot of emotion,” he said. “We all end up on the field … umpires deemed it intentional enough to throw him out. I know it came after Cal got smoked, which is what makes it a little uncomfortable, I think, for me.”
Speier, 31, is 2-2 with one save and a 2.10 ERA in 36 relief appearances this season.
He is 8-11 with two saves and a 3.42 ERA in 251 career appearances (one start) with the Kansas City Royals (2019-22) and Mariners (2023-26).
–Field Level Media
