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Anthony DeSclafani may or may not have intentionally hit Carlos Gomez on the elbow on Thursday night after both Giancarlo Stanton and Reed Johnson were hit by Mike Fiers. Regardless, Major League Baseball is taking action.
According to FOX Sports' Ken Rosenthal, Major League Baseball has suspended DeSclafani for three games as a result of hitting Gomez. DeSclafani is appealing the suspension.
MLB suspends #Marlins’ DeSclafani for three games for intentionally hitting #Brewers’ Gomez with warning in effect.
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) September 12, 2014
#Marlins’ DeSclafani is appealing his suspension.
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) September 12, 2014
In terms of the roster, DeSclafani served as the long relief option out of the bullpen. He has posted a 7.14 ERA and 4.12 FIP in 29 innings with the Marlins in 2014, and could be a candidate to be slotted into the rotation moving forward.
After Nathan Eovaldi struggled and Stanton and Johnson were both hit, DeSclafani was called upon to settle things down. Instead, after getting ahead of Gomez, he hit him on the elbow after missing on a pitch that was intended to be on the inside corner.
Fox Sports Florida announcers Rich Waltz and Tommy Hutton did not believe DeSclafani intentionally hit Gomez, but rather that he truly missed on a pitch inside. With the warning in effect, DeSclafani and acting manager Rob Leary were both ejected. The umpires made the decision to eject DeSclafani-a pitcher who hits a batter with a warning in effect is not automatically tossed.
While there was not necessarily clear intent initially, Major League Baseball may have considered the context of the game and postgame comments when deciding how to handle the DeSclafani situation. Marlins pitching prospect Justin Nicolino tweeted he was "proud" of DeSclafani's actions after watching the series of events in Milwaukee on Thursday night.
DeSclafani was not likely throwing at Gomez, but Major League Baseball felt differently.
After reporting the DeSclafani news, Rosenthal also noted that Mike Fiers, who was not ejected after hitting both Stanton and Johnson and speaking aggressively to the Marlins' dugout, will be fined.
#Brewers’ Fiers fined an undisclosed amount for "his actions, which contributed to the bench clearing."
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) September 12, 2014