Toronto Blue Jays right-hander rookie Alek manoah has been suspended for five games and fined for hitting the Baltimore Orioles third baseman Maikel Franco Saturday and sparking an altercation in which the benches were emptied, MLB senior vice president of field operations Michael Hill announced Tuesday.
Blue Jays manager Charlie Montoyo also received a one-game suspension and will serve it on Tuesday when Toronto plays in Miami. Manoah is appealing his suspension.
Manoah was ejected from Saturday’s game for hitting Franco after allowing consecutive home runs in the fourth inning. After allowing a two-run homer to Ryan mountcastle and lonely home run to Dj stewart, his third and fourth allowed in the game, Manoah hit Franco on the left shoulder on the first pitch, causing the benches and bullpens to empty, though no punches were thrown. Once the situation cooled down, the referees met and kicked Manoah out.
The 24-year-old pitcher said he threw several sliders at Franco in a previous at-bat and turned down one signal for another, opting instead for a fastball. He said the referees told him that his expulsion was due to a “bad timing.”
“I tried to hit the fastball and it got away,” Manoah said. “I was confused by her reaction. I was wondering, ‘What’s going on? What’s going on?’ Those were my hand gestures as I walked towards him. I didn’t understand the frustration there. “
Manoah is 1-0 with a 4.18 ERA in five starts for the Blue Jays this season.
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.
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