CHICAGO – Major League Baseball didn’t think too highly of a Cubs’ pitch that hit a Brewers player on Saturday afternoon at Wrigley Field, and they’ve taken action because of it.
On Monday afternoon, the league suspended pitcher Keegan Thompson for three games along with a fine for hitting Milwaukee outfielder Andrew McCutchen in the eighth inning of a 9-0 Cubs victory. Manager David Ross was also suspended for a game and fined for the incident.
Ross has decided to serve his suspension when the Cubs face the Pirates on Tuesday night in Pittsburgh. Thompson would start his suspension that day if he decides not to appeal the ruling.
This happened on a day where five players were hit by pitches, with McCutchen getting plunked in the eighth inning by Thompson. Unhappy with that and along with the pitch that came inside before, McCutchen began to argue with Thompson as he walked to first base, which caused the benches to clear.
No punches were thrown but Thompson was ejected for hitting McCutchen.
Before that, three Cubs players had been hit by pitches: Nick Madrigal (1st inning), Willson Contreras (4th inning), and Ian Happ (7th inning). Chicago reliever Ethan Roberts hit Christian Yelich to start the ninth inning.
Thompson had pitched well in his 2022 season debut up till that point, throwing 2 2/3 shutout and hitless innings of relief against Milwaukee, striking out four batters. He’s entering his second year at the MLB level after making 32 appearances in the 2021 season with six starts.