Harper banned 4 games by MLB

Strickland out 6 games after melee; both will appeal.

Giants reliever Hunter Strickland received a sixgame suspension Tuesday, and Nationals outfielder Bryce Harper was penalized four games for their roles in a benches-clearing melee Monday in San Francisco. Each also was fined an undisclosed amount.

Major League Baseball said both players planned to appeal, so they were eligible to play in Tuesday night’s game between the clubs.

“You can’t really worry about what MLB is going to do because you don’t really know,” Harper said. “Whatever they say goes.”

Strickland hit Harper in the hip with a pitch in the eighth inning and Harper charged the mound.

MLB Chief Baseball Officer Joe Torre said Strickland intentionally hit “Harper with a pitch, inciting the bench-clearing incident and fighting” and that Harper’s suspension came “for charging the mound, throwing his helmet and fighting.”

“I’m obviously not thrilled about it,” Strickland said. “Whatever they ultimately decide, I’ll own it and take the responsibility.”

The dispute apparently stemmed from two home runs Harper hit off Strickland in the 2014 playoffs. The two had not faced each other since then.

Angels: Center fielder Mike Trout is expected to miss six to eight weeks after electing to have surgery today on the torn ligament in his left thumb. Trout opted for surgery after consulting with Dr. Steven Shin on Monday night. Harper had surgery to repair the same ligament in 2014 and missed eight weeks. Trout was injured on a headfirst slide into second base.

Red Sox: The club put second baseman Dustin Pedroia on the 10-day disabled list with a sprained left wrist and activated third baseman Pablo Sandoval from the DL. The Red Sox expect Pedroia to return at the end of the 10-day period. He was injured when he tumbled over White Sox first baseman Jose Abreu on Monday as the two met at the bag.

Marlins: Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush is no longer interested in buying the Marlins and has ended his pursuit of the team, two people close to the negotiations told the Associated Press. One of the people said former Yankees captain Derek Jeter, who had been part of Bush’s group, is still exploring a bid with other investors led by businessman Tagg Romney.