Reds’ Castellanos to serve suspension
Cincinnati Reds outfielder Nick Castellanos will serve a two-game suspension after he lost his appeal Monday. He was suspended by Major League Baseball for two games for "aggressive actions and for instigating a benches-clearing incident" against the St. Louis Cardinals on April 3.
Under the revised health and safety protocols, the agreement between MLB and players' union says, "prohibitions against unsportsmanlike conduct will be strictly enforced to prevent unnecessary physical contact and support physical distancing between individuals on the playing field.
"(Players who) come within six feet of an umpire or opposing player or manager for the purpose of argument, or engage in altercations on the field are subject to immediate ejection and discipline, including fines and suspensions."
The benches-clearing incident stemmed from when Castellanos was hit by a pitch from Cardinals reliever Jake Woodford. Castellanos thought it may have been intentional.
Castellanos later scored in the inning on a wild pitch and Woodford fell onto Castellanos' back trying to apply a tag. Castellanos stood up after scoring and shouted, "Let's (expletive) go!" while staring at Woodford. Cardinals catcher Yadier Molina grabbed the back of Castellanos' neck as Castellanos began walking away, and the benches quickly cleared.
No punches were thrown, but there was some shoving around home plate. Castellanos never made contact with another player.
Castellanos was the only player ejected and the only player suspended. Five other players – Eugenio Suárez, Jesse Winker, Molina, Nolan Arenado and Jordan Hicks –were fined for their roles in the benches-clearing incident.
'Amazing' clubhouse
When the Reds were celebrating their 3-2 comeback win against Cleveland on Saturday, Jesse Winker paid a major compliment to his teammates.
“It's the most amazing clubhouse I've ever been a part of in my life,” he said.
A winning clubhouse is usually a good clubhouse, but Winker saw the first-hand effects of it in Saturday's win.
Winker drilled a leadoff double into the right-field corner in the seventh inning. It was the hardest-hit ball of the game and the Reds were in business with a runner on second and no outs while trailing by a run. The Reds' win probability jumped from 35.4% to 48.8% because of that hit. The only play that caused a bigger spike without a run scoring was Joey Votto's triple play in the eighth inning.
But the great start to the inning quickly turned into a disaster. Winker
was overaggressive on a ball in the dirt and was thrown out trying to advance to third by catcher Austin Hedges.
Winker knew he made a mistake, but his teammates made sure he didn't dwell on it.
“To be honest with you, after that play happened, a bunch of guys, they picked me up,” Winker said. “They said, 'hey, it happens, forget it.' I feel like collectively having that got me locked back in. ‘On to the next play.”
The next time Winker came to the plate, he hit an RBI single to drive in the game-tying run. The Reds won on a walk-off single by Tyler Stephenson in the 10th inning.
“We have a bunch of guys pulling for one another,” Winker said. “We have each other's backs . ... It's a real pleasure to be a part of. It just makes coming to the yard the best time. It's really what it's all about.”