Jonathan Papelbon receives three-game suspension, will appeal

By Josh Land

Nationals

September 25, 2015, 9:48am

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Major League Baseball has suspended and fined Nationals closer Jonathan Papelbon for intentionally throwing in the head area of Manny Machado in the ninth inning of Wednesday's 4-3 loss. Papelbon will appeal his three-game suspension, which was scheduled to begin with tonight's contest against the Phillies.

Jonathan Papelbon throwing blue.jpg Papelbon plunked Machado two innings after the Orioles star hammered a two-run go-ahead homer off Nats ace Max Scherzer. There was question whether Machado showboated his game-changing moment.

With two outs in the ninth and the Nationals trailing by one, Papelbon ran his first-pitch heater high and tight on Machado. The Orioles third baseman stared back at Papelbon, taking a while before digging back in the batter's box. Papelbon followed with a breaking ball away. And then on the third pitch, Papelbon's 93 mph fastball darted in, nailing Machado on the left shoulder.

Home plate umpire Mark Ripperger wasted no time ejecting Papelbon. A short brouhaha resulted with both benches emptying, but no further retaliation was taken.

Machado called Papelbon a "coward" after the game, while the veteran reliever indicated he was surprised by Ripperger's quick hook, saying "perception is reality."

"If a guy takes someone deep, they want to do whatever they want, that's fine with me," Papelbon continued. "That's baseball. Whether or not I'm out there and someone thinks I show them up with a fist pump or someone pimps a home run, that's baseball. Just play the game. Don't let the game, or let fans dictate otherwise. Play the game of baseball."