Baltimore Orioles third baseman Manny Machado has been suspended five games and fined for intentionally throwing his bat during an 11-1 loss to the Oakland Athletics on Sunday.
Major League Baseball announced the decision just two days after Machado threw his bat towards Athletics’ third baseman Josh Donaldson.
Before the incident, Machado was thrown two inside fastballs by Athletics’ reliever Fernando Abad. Abad was ejected from Sunday’s game and also received a fine.
The feud between the two teams started Friday night when Machado took exception to a hard tag by Donaldson. Machado, coming off an injury, fell to the ground, and then got in Donaldson’s face, causing the benches to clear.
Machado apologized for the bat-throwing incident after Monday night’s game.
“When things happen like this, you’re definitely going to learn,” Machado told MLB.com yesterday. “It’s going to make me a better player and it’s going to make me a better man. Looking forward, I hope I learn from it and don’t make the same mistake.”
Machado plans to appeal the suspension.