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Seattle Mariners reliever Gabe Speier is appealing a three-game suspension after an incident during Wednesday night's (August 5) game against the Detroit Tigers. Major League Baseball issued the suspension following Speier's ejection for hitting Tigers' second baseman Gleyber Torres with a pitch. The incident occurred in the eighth inning when Speier threw two consecutive fastballs inside to Torres, with the second hitting him in the thigh. This led to a benches-clearing situation, though no punches were thrown.
The tension between the teams had been building throughout the game. Mariners' starter Bryan Woo hit three Tigers batters with breaking balls during his seven innings on the mound. In response, Tigers' pitcher Enmanuel De Jesus hit Mariners' catcher Cal Raleigh with a fastball in the seventh inning. According to Detroit News, Mariners manager Dan Wilson was also ejected after arguing with umpires over the lack of a warning following the first pitch to Torres.
Tigers' manager AJ Hinch commented on the situation, saying, "I don't know about intent. They are going to have to answer that question." Torres, who was the fourth Tigers player hit in the game, expressed that he believed the Mariners were protecting Raleigh. "I think they were protecting Raleigh," Torres said.
Wilson is serving a one-game suspension today (August 6), while Speier's appeal is pending. The Mariners and Tigers are set to conclude their series with a game on Thursday (August 7).