Chris Sale reportedly to be suspended by MLB

After throwing behind Manny Machado’s back Tuesday night, Red Sox pitcher Chris Sale will reportedly be suspended by the league.

According to a report from Ken Rosenthal, Boston Red Sox pitcher Chris Sale will be suspended for throwing behind Baltimore Orioles third baseman Manny Machado’s back on Tuesday night.

Rosenthal reported that MLB’s chief baseball officer, Joe Torre, held a conference call with the two teams’ managers and general managers, and mentioned that Sale would likely be suspended for his actions on Tuesday night. Torre also warned that discipline was coming if the teams continued throwing at each other.

Sale seemed to want to get it out of the way early last night, throwing his first pitch right behind Machado, and both teams quickly received warnings. Sale moved along in the game, striking out 11 batters over eight innings to earn the 5-2 win for the Sox.

Sale will likely receive a five-game ban as his punishment, which would push his next start back a day and require a spot start for Boston at some point in the next week.

The Red Sox-Orioles battles this season have gotten heated on more than one occasion, starting with an altercation between Machado and Boston’s Dustin Pedroia a few weeks ago. Machado slid into second base a little later than most would’ve liked to see on an attempted double play, and “spiked” Pedroia in the leg as he tried to disrupt the double play.

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The incident began a war of words between multiple members of the two teams, and pitchers began throwing at opposing players to try and retaliate. It reached a boiling point when Red Sox pitcher Matt Barnes threw a pitch that barely missed Machado’s head a few weeks ago.

Machado went on an expletive-filled rant after Tuesday’s game about the incident, saying he no longer had any respect for anyone on the Red Sox.