Toronto rookie Marcus Stroman was suspended for six games by Major League Baseball on Wednesday for intentionally throwing a pitch at Baltimore catcher Caleb Joseph on Monday. Stroman has elected to appeal the suspension, and he will be allowed to pitch until his appeal is heard.
The suspension was announced by Joe Garagiola Jr., MLB's senior vice president of standards and operations. Stroman, the 22nd overall pick in the 2012 First-Year Player Draft, has gone 10-6 with a 3.80 ERA for the Blue Jays, and he's started 18 games out of his 24 appearances.
The pitch sparked an angry exchange of words from the Baltimore dugout, and both teams were warned, but Stroman denied intentionally throwing it after the game.
"It kind of just slipped out of my hand," Stroman said after the game on Monday. "It was late in the game, I got two big strikeouts, I'm a little excited, trying to get out of the inning."