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MLB suspended Pirates pitcher Chris Devenski three games after ruling he intentionally threw at Reds rookie Sal Stewart during Saturday’s game.

MLB punished Pirates pitcher Chris Devenski Tuesday, with a three-game suspension after determining he intentionally threw at Reds rookie Sal Stewart in Saturday’s game. The discipline follows a seventh-inning pitch that sailed inside during a Pirates blowout, triggering an immediate ejection and escalating tensions between the clubs.

The incident unfolded in what became a 17-7 Pirates blowout at PNC Park, with Pittsburgh already leading Cincinnati by nine runs when Devenski sent a 92-mph sinker way inside, nearly drilling the young infielder. The league also issued an undisclosed fine and suspended manager Don Kelly for one game, with Devenski’s ban set to begin immediately unless he files an appeal that would allow him to keep pitching.

Devenski Suspension Reduced to 2 Games

Devenski subsequently reached a settlement with the league that knocked the ban down from three games to two, according to Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reporter Colin Beazley. Both Devenski and Kelly will miss Tuesday night’s series opener in Arizona against the Diamondbacks, but Devenski becomes eligible to return for Thursday’s finale of that series, Beazley reported.

The sequence that triggered the punishment began before the pitch was even thrown. Stewart stepped into the batter’s box and called time out just as Devenski was coming set, briefly stepping back out before digging back in, a detail umpire crew chief Alan Porter flagged as the basis for his crew’s decision.

“We had the situation leading up to it with [Devenski] stepping off the rubber and [Stewart] stepping out of the box,” Porter said later, according to MLB.com. “Still had time and stepped out. After that, [Devenski] stepped up, fired the pitch and we believe threw it at him intentionally. That’s why we ejected him.”

Stewart was clearly upset after jumping clear of the pitch. Devenski moved several steps toward home plate before the umpires intervened. Kelly came out to argue once the crew ejected his pitcher, but the decision stood. Pittsburgh went on to win 17-7.

Pirates Reliever Denies Intent, Motive Unclear

Major League Baseball’s Senior Vice President for On-Field Operations, Michael Hill, made the formal suspension announcement Tuesday, according to MLB.com. Devenski denied any intention to hit Stewart after the game, claiming he was simply pitching inside, and the rookie misunderstood.

“Going hard in to start an at-bat,” Devenski said, according to MLB Trade Rumors. “I know the guy likes to dive over [the plate]. That’s about it. Just trying to execute my pitch there, and I think he took it the wrong way. It is what it is, but I’m not going to back down from anything, either.”

What actually set Devenski off remains an open question. The timing of Stewart’s time out, arriving just as the pitcher was coming set, may have been the flashpoint, but no confirmed explanation has emerged from either side, according to Yahoo Sports‘ Chris Cwik. Stewart had gone 0-for-13 against Pittsburgh across the series, a stretch that makes the situation even more puzzling, with a pitcher brushing back a struggling hitter in a blowout.

Pirates’ Devenski Called Up Days Before Suspension

The Pirates had only promoted the 35-year-old journeyman Devenski from Triple-A Indianapolis on Friday, after he’d posted a 15-to-2 strikeout-to-walk ratio across 10 2/3 innings with just one run allowed, per MLB Trade Rumors. He’d allowed two runs in 2 1/3 big league innings this season before the ejection cut his outing short Saturday.

Playing for his seventh team in an 11-year career, Devenski owns a 3.93 ERA across 419 MLB innings and 319 games. The next scheduled meeting between the NL Central rivals is June 26 in Pittsburgh.