Major League Baseball has upheld Toronto Blue Jays outfielder Jose Bautista‘s one-game suspension for his role in a brawl with the Texas Rangers on May 15.
Per Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet.ca, MLB denied Bautista’s appeal. He will sit out of Toronto’s game against the Boston Red Sox on Friday night.
The feud between Bautista and the Rangers began last year during the playoffs with his now-legendary bat flip after he hit the decisive three-run homer in the seventh inning of Game 5 of the American League Division Series.
In the last regular-season game between the two teams on May 15, Rangers pitcher Matt Bush put Bautista on first base in the top of the eighth inning by hitting him with a pitch.
Bautista followed up with a hard slide into second base after Justin Smoak hit a grounder to third, which Rangers second baseman Rougned Odor took exception to, and chaos ensued.
After the game, Bautista told reporters that he actually held up on his slide, via ESPN.com: “I had a hard slide at second base. I could have injured [Odor, but] I chose not to. I tried to send a message that I didn’t appreciate getting hit [by the pitch].”
MLB announced discipline for 14 players and coaches after the brawl. Odor received the biggest punishment after punching Bautista square in the face, as he was suspended for eight games before an appeal knocked it down to seven.
Even though Bautista did not successfully appeal his suspension, at least he can finally sit down for one game to get this ordeal over with and return to Toronto’s lineup Saturday.
The Blue Jays are off to a slow start at 24-25 this season after making the playoffs last year, so losing one of their best hitters for only one game is a huge win for their 2016 hopes, given the violence in this brawl.
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