Papelbon suspended, Harper sits
Washington Nationals closer Jonathan Papelbon will miss the rest of the season after his dugout fight with teammate Bryce Harper four games because of a team suspension for that episode and three games because he dropped his appeal of a Major League Baseball ban for throwing at an opponent’s head last week.
Nationals manager Matt Williams said Harper, a leading NL MVP contender, was held out of the starting lineup for Monday’s home finale against Cincinnati for “his part in the altercation” with Papelbon Sunday.
Harper, though, said after Sunday’s game that he was scheduled to be off Monday.
“It’s been a very difficult 24 hours for the organization,” Williams said at his pregame news conference, which started 1 1/2 hours later than scheduled. “Incidents like that in the dugout (are) not the way we want to play our games.”
On Sunday, after Harper flied out in the eighth inning against Philadelphia, he headed to the dugout, where he and Papelbon exchanged words. The argument escalated, and Papelbon reached out with his left hand and grabbed Harper by the throat.
Papelbon then shoved the outfielder toward the bench with both hands, before teammates and members of Williams’ coaching staff pulled the pair apart.
Williams was at the other end of the dugout and, he said Monday, was not aware of exactly what happened until later in the day, when he saw video that made the rounds on Twitter immediately after the scrap. Williams said he hadn’t seen that video before his postgame news conference Sunday and hadn’t sought information from his coaches or other players during the game. He added that because he was unaware of the extent of the confrontation, he sent Papelbon back out to pitch in the ninth inning.
“I could have asked for more specifics,” Williams said Monday.
When he eventually did see video of Papelbon clutching at Harper’s neck, Williams said, “I was upset. I was appalled.”
Meanwhile, Washington right-hander Max Scherzer came within five outs of his second no-hitter of the season, shutting down the Cincinnati Reds into the eighth inning while striking out 10 batters in a 5-1 victory Monday.
Mariners hire Dipoto as GM: The Seattle Mariners have found their new general manager, hiring former Angels GM Jerry Dipoto.
Seattle announced Dipoto’s hiring Monday. He replaces Jack Zduriencik, who was fired in late August after seven disappointing seasons during which the club failed to end its playoff drought. With the Toronto Blue Jays making the postseason this year, the Mariners now have the longest playoff absence in baseball at 14 years and counting.
Dipoto’s job will be to end that playoff drought and continue rebuilding a farm system that had highs and lows during Zduriencik’s tenure. Dipoto was the Angels’ general manager for 3 years before resigning on July 1 following clashes with manager Mike Scioscia that began the first year they worked together.
N.Y. Yankees 5, Boston 1: Eduardo Rodriguez became the first Red Sox rookie left-hander to win 10 games in 43 years, and Boston slowed the New York Yankees’ march toward a postseason berth with a 5-1 victory Monday night.
The Yankees had a chance to clinch their first playoff appearance since 2012 with a win what would’ve been their 10,000th franchise victory.
Toronto 4, Baltimore 3: The Toronto Blue Jays edged closer to clinching the AL East title Monday night, getting a homer from Edwin Encarnacion and scoring a ninth-inning run to secure a 4-3 comeback victory over the Baltimore Orioles.