Mariners’ Winker, Crawford, J-Rod suspended for Angels brawl

By TIM BOOTH
AP Sports Writer

SEATTLE (AP) — A trio of Seattle Mariners regulars were suspended Monday for their brawl with the Los Angeles Angels, and another went on the injured list after being hurt in the melee.

Outfielder Jesse Winker was banned seven games, shortstop J.P. Crawford received a five-game suspension and outfielder Julio Rodríguez got a two-game punishment from Major League Baseball for their roles in Sunday’s fight. Catcher Luis Torrens went on the 10-day injured list with a left shoulder injury suffered in the fracas.

Manager Scott Servais was sporting bruises on his arm after being caught at the bottom of a pile during the fracas. While Angels interim manager Phil Nevin was banned 10 games, Servais escaped punishment from MLB.

Winker, Crawford and Rodríguez are appealing their suspensions, and they’ll remain active until they’ve had hearings. Crawford was set to lead off a game Monday against Baltimore, with Rodríguez and Winker hitting right behind him.

The Angels had four players, four coaches and an interpreter suspended. Their losses won’t be quite as painful on the player side. Injured third baseman Anthony Rendon got five games, pitchers Andrew Wantz and Ryan Tepera got three and pitcher Raisel Iglesias got two.

The brawl happened in the second inning of Sunday’s 2-1 win by the Angels — four minutes of mayhem that led to a delay of about 18 minutes.

The Angels were upset after Mike Trout was nearly hit in the head by a pitch from Seattle’s Erik Swanson on Saturday night. Nevin made the late decision to go with little-used reliever Wantz as an opener Sunday.

Wantz threw a pitch behind Rodriguez’s head in the first inning, then hit Winker in the hip to start the second.

That’s when the chaos started. Both teams threw numerous punches in the melee that began when Winker charged the Angels’ emptying dugout after yelling at Nevin.

Winker was still angry Monday. Asked if the brawl was a bad look for baseball, Winker responded, “I think it’s a bad look on Phil Nevin and could have been handled differently.”

Winker said his anger stemmed from Rodriguez — the Mariners young 21-year-old center fielder — being the initial target, and Wantz not being immediately ejected. He also pinned the ensuing fracas on chirping from the Angels dugout by Nevin and Rendon.

Winker acknowledged he’ll face a significant suspension.

“It’s an unfortunate part because it could have all been stopped with a simple objection, and people just not talking,” Winker said. “There’s a man with a cast on and a manager talking. That’s why this started. If they’re not talking, none of that happens.

“But they decide to run their mouth and I didn’t like that. It’s that simple. There’s nothing else left to say about that. They’re going to suspend me, they’re going to suspend Crawford and that’s MLB’s decision. Whatever, it’s part of it.”

Seattle called up catcher Andrew Knapp from Triple-A Tacoma to take Torrens’ spot on the roster. Torrens was having additional imaging done to get a full picture of the shoulder injury, Servais said.

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