MILWAUKEE (AP) St. Louis Cardinals manager Mike Shildt was suspended one game for his role in a bench-clearing fracas in Milwaukee, and was set to miss the nightcap of Wednesday’s doubleheader against the Brewers.
Major League Baseball announced the penalty about 35 minutes before the Cardinals and Brewers met in the opener at Miller Park.
Shildt was suspended and fined an undisclosed amount ”for actions that contributed to inciting the benches-clearing incident” in the fifth inning of an 18-3 loss to Milwaukee on Tuesday night.
The Cardinals and Brewers, both under .500 but competing for spots in the expanded playoff field, tangled with Milwaukee leading 13-2.
Shildt and Milwaukee manager Craig Counsell were ejected, soon after Brewers star Ryan Braun was awarded first base on a rare catcher’s interference call against Yadier Molina.
Shildt came off the bench to examine Molina’s left arm, then he and the All-Star catcher approached the Milwaukee dugout and exchanged words with Brewers players. Players from both teams’ dugouts and bullpens massed in front of the Milwaukee bench.
”I go to check on him and make sure he’s OK and hear something out of the (Brewers) dugout,” Shildt said after the game. ”We don’t start things, but we’re not going to take it. Heard something I didn’t appreciate. I will always have our players’ backs.”
Said Counsell: ”Apparently there was a little miscommunication between (Shildt) and our dugout, him and me, I should say, him and me.”
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