MLB doles out suspensions to Cubs’ Thompson, Ross
Major League Baseball announced discipline Monday evening for Cubs pitcher Keegan Thompson and manager David Ross.
Thompson will be suspended for 3 games for hitting Brewers designated hitter Andrew McCutchen with a pitch late in Saturday’s game at Wrigley Field.
Ross will be suspended for 1 game, which he will serve Tuesday afternoon when the Cubs kick off a quick 2-game series in Pittsburgh.
Both Thompson and Ross were also fined an undisclosed amount. Nobody on the Brewers was disciplined after the benches-clearing incident.
Thompson could elect to appeal the discipline but if he doesn’t, he would also start his suspension Tuesday and be unavailable for the Cubs until Friday at the earliest.
As the Cubs were putting the finishing touches on a 9-0 win over the Brewers Saturday, Thompson hit McCutchen with a fastball with 2 outs in the top of the 8th inning. Both benches and bullpens cleared, but the scuffle quickly ended and play resumed.
Field view of the benches clearing brouhaha at Wrigley.
— Tony Andracki (@TonyAndracki23) April 9, 2022
Jason Heyward wasted no time getting to the front of the scrum from CF pic.twitter.com/rvu9JdOnkW
The Cubs were unhappy with how often they’ve been hit by Brewers pitchers in recent history — particularly Willson Contreras, who has been hit 10 times by Milwaukee’s staff since the start of the 2020 season.
Contreras was plunked in each of the first 2 games of the series and Ian Happ was forced out of Saturday’s game when he took a pitch off the knee in the 7th inning.
[MORE: ‘What is normal anymore?’ Cubs are counting on David Ross to lead organization into new era]
Thompson insisted he wasn’t trying to hit McCutchen on purpose but the Brewers felt differently and the league clearly agrees.
“Even though it’s a 9-0 ballgame, I’m still out there trying to work on things,” Thompson said Saturday. “I’m still working on my windup, staying on a good rhythm. I still have trouble with that sometimes. I’m working on 2-seams and sometimes it gets away. It just happens sometimes.”
The two division rivals still have 16 games left to play this season.