MLB drops the hammer on Rays for intentional hitting Nick Castellanos

One of the great stories that have come from what has overall been a disappointing season for the Tampa Bay Rays has been the play of Edwin Uceta, a reliever who came out of nowhere and has blossomed into a legitimate late-game arm for Tampa Bay.

Uceta inked a minor league deal with the Rays this past offseason, joining his seventh organization, and he has been nothing short of dominant when given a chance to pitch. He entered Tuesday's outing against the Philadelphia Phillies with a sparkling 0.75 ERA, allowing just three earned runs in 36 innings of work. That went up in a big way against the powerful Phillies.

The right-hander recorded one out against the six batters he faced, allowing his frustration to boil over enough to the point where he hit Nick Castellanos with a pitch that certainly looked intentional causing the benches to clear.

Uceta was ejected from the game, which meant that the umpiring crew certainly felt that it was intentional as well. Uceta getting tossed meant a suspension would likely follow and sure enough, MLB dropped the hammer on him and Kevin Cash on Wednesday, suspending the reliever for three games and the manager for one.

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MLB issues punishment to Rays after hit by pitch

Uceta said that he did not hit Castellanos intentionally, but based on the context of what transpired, it's easy to call his bluff. The Phillies were hitting him hard - as hard as he has been hit all season long. He hit Castellanos with a 96.2 mph sinker, exactly two mph faster than his average sinker velocity according to Baseball Savant.

Throwing a ball that much harder than normal in that situation at someone makes it pretty obvious that it was, indeed, on purpose. Even Cash believed there might have been some intent on a frustrated Uceta's part.

Three games might not be the end of the world for a starting pitcher, but for a key reliever like Uceta, this is a suspension that he and the Rays will feel. Cash got a game because MLB believed the hit-by-pitch was intentional, which is what always happens in these circumstances.

The Phillies got the win against the Rays, and now got to see the pitcher who threw at their right fielder get the suspension he deserved. Not a bad night.