Eight suspended for Cincinnati brawl

NEW YORK — Pittsburgh pitcher Keone Kela was suspended for 10 games, wild-swinging Cincinnati reliever Amir Garrett for eight and Yasiel Puig for three for a furious brawl between the Pirates and Reds on Tuesday.

Major League Baseball issued eight suspensions Thursday, two days after the fight at Great American Ball Park.

Three players on each team were suspended, and all elected to appeal. They will be allowed to play until the process is complete. Reds manager David Bell was suspended six games, starting Thursday night when Cincinnati visited Atlanta.

Pittsburgh manager Clint Hurdle was penalized two games, to begin Friday night when the Pirates play the New York Mets.

Puig was suspended for his aggressive actions on what turned out to be his last day with the Reds.

“Things happen in the moment. You need to defend your teammates,” Puig said. “Off the field, we’re all friends.”

Pirates infielder Jose Osuna was suspended five games while Pittsburgh pitcher Kyle Crick and Reds pitcher Jared Hughes each got three.

Bell and the Reds became enraged after Kela threw near Derek Dietrich’s head.

“This comes down to, really, one of our guys, the ball was thrown at his head. What were we supposed to do?” Bell said. “If we don’t, I can’t live without doing anything to protect one of our guys.”

Odds and ends

Cleveland manager Terry Francona missed Thursday’s game against the Astros after undergoing eye surgery. The team said the operation was unexpected. Francona was expected to return Friday when Cleveland hosts the Los Angeles Angels. … Danny Farquhar, who suffered a brain hemorrhage in the Chicago White Sox dugout last season, rejoined the team as minor league pitching instructor.