The Cubs are without David Ross for the first road game of 2022 as Major League Baseball suspended the manager for 1 game after Saturday’s benches-clearing incident at Wrigley Field.

Pitcher Keegan Thompson was suspended 3 games but is appealing, so he is available out of the bullpen until that matter is settled.

Thompson hit Brewers DH Andrew McCutchen with a pitch in the 8th inning Saturday afternoon, spurring both benches and bullpens to empty onto the field. Three separate Cubs were hit by pitches earlier in the game, including Willson Contreras — who has now been plunked 10 times by Brewers pitching since the start of 2020.

Ross chatted with Marquee Sports Network’s Taylor McGregor prior to the Cubs’ game Tuesday afternoon in Pittsburgh and sounded off on the suspension.

“It’s out of my control,” Ross said. “It’s part of the rules. Our guys are gonna handle things that we need to on the field. Whether it was intentional or not, that’s the verdict that comes down. I’ve got to take the suspension.

“I’ve got a lot of confidence in my staff. They’ll handle things nicely in the dugout. I’ll miss it. I hate it. But it is what it is. I don’t spend a whole lot of time worrying about things I can’t control.”

[MORE: ‘What is normal anymore?’: Cubs are counting on David Ross to lead organization into new era]

Ross also talked about his team’s season-opening series win over the Brewers and was particularly impressed with the Cubs’ at-bats.

“I was extremely happy with the way the offense worked and controlled the strike zone,” Ross said.

Check out the full conversation with Ross above as he shared his early impressions of Seiya Suzuki and Marcus Stroman and also provided an update on Ian Happ.