Astros’ Abreu facing 2-game suspension for HBP
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Alden Gonzalez, ESPN Staff Writer
HOUSTON — Astros relief pitcher Bryan Abreu has been handed a two-game suspension in the wake of his controversial hit by pitch of Texas Rangers outfielder Adolis Garcia, which sparked a benches-clearing incident and a near brawl in the late stages of Game 5 of the American League Championship Series on Friday night.
Major League Baseball noted in its news release that “all six of the major league umpires deemed Abreu’s pitch to have been intentional” in ejecting him from the game, adding that the league “took into account the dangerous nature of the pitch and its potential impact on player safety” in doling out the suspension.
The announcement — made by MLB senior vice president of on-field operations Michael Hill on Saturday — asserted that Abreu was suspended for “intentionally throwing at” Garcia, a notion several members of the Astros denied in the wake of Houston’s come-from-behind victory in Game 5, including Abreu himself.
“My plan for him was just to try to get the ball up and in,” Abreu said after the game. “That’s my plan with him — up and in, and slider down and away. I just missed the pitch and he just overreacted.”
Abreu, the Astros’ primary setup man, would be unavailable for Game 6 of the ALCS and either Game 7 of that series or Game 1 of the World Series; the Astros, after sweeping all three games in Arlington, Texas, hold a 3-2 advantage over the Rangers. If Abreu elects to appeal, discipline would be on hold while the process plays out.
The collective bargaining agreement states that hearings involving a suspension in the playoffs must be heard within 48 hours of a player deciding to appeal. In this case, Abreu could wait until before Game 6 to state that he wants to appeal, then theoretically be available in Game 6 and a potential Game 7 while the process plays out. In that instance, though, he could be unavailable for the start of the World Series if the Astros advance and his suspension is upheld.
Abreu was also fined an undisclosed amount, as were Garcia, Rangers pitcher Matt Bush, Astros pitcher Lance McCullers Jr. and manager Dusty Baker. Garcia and Baker were also ejected from Friday’s game but were not suspended. McCullers and Bush will be prohibited from sitting on their respective benches for the remainder of the ALCS, MLB announced.
Abreu’s hit by pitch occurred in the bottom of the eighth, two innings after Garcia hit a dramatic three-run homer and celebrated emphatically, walking halfway up the first-base line and slamming his bat onto the Globe Life Field turf before starting his jog. The hit by pitch occurred with a runner on first, none out and the Rangers still leading by two runs, on a first-pitch, 99 mph fastball that caught Garcia in the left arm. Garcia immediately turned to Astros catcher Martin Maldonado, then went looking for him again after players from both teams had spilled onto the field.
A similar incident occurred at Houston’s Minute Maid Park in late July, in the wake of a grand slam by Garcia. Rangers second baseman Marcus Semien, who had been hit by a pitch earlier in the game, jawed at Maldonado upon reaching home plate. Garcia then joined in. Dugouts and benches emptied then, too, but no punches were thrown.
No punches were thrown on Friday, either, but Baker, who watched Jose Altuve‘s game-winning home run from the hallway connected to the dugout, said there will “probably” be a carryover for what remains of this series.
How so?
“Man, I don’t know,” Baker said prior to Saturday’s workout from Houston. “I don’t have a crystal ball. I mean, it’s going to be what it’s going to be. You have to wait and see, just like me. We don’t script it; it just happens.”
SUNRISE, Fla. — Auston Matthews hadn’t scored against Florida in more than a year. He ended the drought — and might have also saved Toronto’s season.
Matthews got his first goal of the series to break a scoreless tie in the third period, Joseph Woll stopped 22 shots and the Toronto Maple Leafs kept their season alive by beating the Florida Panthers 2-0 in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference semifinal series Friday night.
“Just a gutsy, gutsy win,” Matthews said.
Game 7 is Sunday night in Toronto. The winner will face Carolina in the East final.
“We played a simple game tonight,” Leafs coach Craig Berube said.
Simple, but effective. Toronto blocked 31 shots, plus killed off all four Florida power plays.
Max Pacioretty added an insurance goal for the Maple Leafs, who improved to 4-2 when facing elimination since the start of the 2023 playoffs.
Sergei Bobrovsky stopped 15 shots for the Panthers, the defending Stanley Cup champions who oddly are only 8-7 in potential closeout games over the past three postseasons.
“You win or you learn,” Panthers captain Aleksander Barkov said. “Tonight, we learned.”
Florida coach Paul Maurice is 5-0 in Game 7s, including the final game of last season’s Stanley Cup Final. The Panthers are 3-1 all time in the ultimate game of a series — 2-0 on the road — while the Maple Leafs have lost each of their past six Game 7s. Of those, four were against Boston and now-Panthers forward Brad Marchand.
“We’re not going to show any video of those Game 7s,” Maurice said. “We’ll look at our game tonight and see where we can get better.”
It was the 68th game of this season’s playoffs — and only the second that was 0-0 after 40 minutes. The other was Wednesday night, when Edmonton eliminated Vegas with a 1-0 victory in overtime in Game 5 of that Western Conference semifinal series.
Toronto had five goals in Game 1, four more in Game 2 and had three by the early goings of the second period of Game 3. Add it up, and that was 12 in basically the first seven periods of the series.
From there, Toronto got basically nothing — until Matthews broke through.
The Toronto captain was 0-for-31 on shots against Florida this season, including the regular season. Bobrovsky had stopped 85 of the last 86 shot attempts he had seen in the series. And the Maple Leafs hadn’t had the lead in basically the equivalent of 3½ games — 216 minutes, 30 seconds, to be precise.
But when a pass got away from Florida’s Aaron Ekblad, Matthews had a slight opening — and that was all he needed. A low shot skittered along the ice and beat Bobrovsky for a 1-0 lead with 13:40 left.
“It’s a big win, from top to bottom,” Matthews said. “We earned that.”
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