AP News
(2010-07-21 05:45:46)
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw has been suspended for five games following a heated encounter between his team and the San Francisco Giants that featured multiple ejections.
Dodgers manager Joe Torre and his bench coach Bob Schaefer were each given one-game suspensions and undisclosed fines, Major League Baseball announced Wednesday.
Kershaw, Torre, Schaefer and All-Star Dodgers closer Jonathan Broxton were all ejected at Dodger Stadium on Tuesday as tempers frayed before the home team lost 7-5.
Kershaw, suspended for intentionally throwing at San Francisco's Aaron Rowand, has chosen to file an appeal and his ban will be held in abeyance until the process is complete, MLB said in a statement.
Torre, penalized "for the intentional actions of Kershaw after a warning had been issued", will serve his suspension on Wednesday when the Dodgers end their series with the Giants.
Schaefer is scheduled to serve his suspension when the Dodgers host the New York Mets on Thursday.
Tuesday's game boiled over in the bottom of the fifth inning when Giants starter Tim Lincecum threw a pitch inside to Matt Kemp before hitting him in the ribs with the next.
Both players took a step toward each other before home plate umpire Adrian Johnson ushered Kemp to first base.
After the Giants had pulled to 5-4 at the top of the sixth, reliever Denny Bautista threw twice at Dodgers catcher Russell Martin, sparking a heated reaction from the LA bench.
Schaefer argued for Bautista to be ejected from the game but was himself thrown out by the umpire.
Kershaw joined him in the locker room after hitting Rowand in the hip with his first pitch of the seventh inning. Torre was automatically thrown out as well, which left hitting coach Don Mattingly in charge.
Broxton had to be taken out of the game with the Dodgers leading 5-4 in the top of the ninth after Mattingly infringed one of baseball's more obscure rules after technically making a second visit to the mound.
(Writing by Mark Lamport-Stokes in Los Angeles; Editing by Steve Ginsburg)
