Wednesday afternoon, the New York Mets and St. Louis Cardinals wrapped up their three-game series with a benches-clearing brawl stemming from a series of hit by pitches. The Mets have been hit by 19 pitches this year, six more than any other team, and it their frustration seemed to finally boil over when reliever Yoan López buzzed Nolan Arenado up high.
Here's the benches clearing incident, which started after Arenado had words with López. No punches were thrown:
On Thursday, MLB announced Arenado has been suspended two games for "contributing to the incitement of the incident." Cardinals reliever Génesis Cabrera, who hit JD Davis with a pitch in the prior half-inning, was suspended one game as well. If Arenado and/or Cabrera appeal the suspension, they will be able to play until the appeal is heard.
Arenado, Cabrera, and López all received undisclosed fines, as did Cardinals righty Jack Flaherty and Mets righty Taijuan Walker. Flaherty and Walker were fined for leaving the dugout and participating in the incident while on the injured list.
"After (Davis) got (hit) in the ankle, that was kind of the last straw for them, and I had a feeling it was coming," Arenado told MLB.com after Wednesday's game. "(The pitching being up high) was more of the problem. I get what's going on in this series, and it's part of the game. I don't know how close it was, but it felt close."
Five players (three Mets and two Cardinals) were hit in Tuesday's game, though none appeared intentional. Mets pitcher Chris Bassitt, who hit a batter in the game, ripped MLB and said the baseballs are too inconsistent. Cardinals righty Miles Mikolas shot back, saying "It's not the ball's fault. Take some responsibility for your actions."
"It's one of those things, whether it's intentional or not, it has to stop," Starling Marte said after Tuesday's game. "We're tired of it and we're going to have to do something about it if it continues to happen because it is uncomfortable every time you go out there to get hit."
The Mets and Cardinals will see each other again for a four-game series at Citi Field from May 16-19.