Pirates' Dennis Santana suspended four games, fined for fan altercation
Pittsburgh Pirates reliever Dennis Santana has been suspended four games and fined for his altercation with a fan during an 8-4 win over the Detroit Tigers on June 19.
The altercation between Santana and the fan came in the seventh inning of the Pirates' game at Comerica Park and included Santana jumping into the air to take a swing at the fan, who was sitting behind the Pirates' bullpen.
"Pirates pitcher Dennis Santana has received a four-game suspension and an undisclosed fine for his aggressive conduct toward a fan near the bullpen during the second game of Thursday's doubleheader at Detroit's Comerica Park," Michael Hill, MLB's Senior Vice President for On-Field Operations, said in a statement.
The statement said Santana has elected to appeal the suspension and fine, meaning he remains eligible to pitch for the Pirates until the appeal process comes to a close.
REQUIRED READING: Pirates reliever Dennis Santana involved in fan altercation in win over Tigers
When asked after the game about the situation and what escalated it, Santana told reporters via an interpreter that he didn't want to "get into" the details of what caused it but said the fan "crossed the line" a few times throughout the night. The fan was removed from the game by Tigers' security, while Santana had to be walked back by a member of the Pirates' bullpen staff.
"Like I said, you guys know me and you know my temper. I'm a calm person and they crossed the line a few times. I would like to leave it at that," Santana said on June 19 through Pirates interpreter Stephen Morales.
Santana entered the game in the ninth inning with the game tied 4-4 but was only able to pitch to one hitter before the game was sent into its second rain delay of the evening. In that at-bat, Santana got Tigers right fielder Zach McKinstry to fly out to center.
The 6-foot-2 right-hander holds a 1.72 ERA in 31⅓ innings of work this season across 32 appearances.
The Pirates started their three-game weekend series against the Texas Rangers 15½ games back of the Chicago Cubs in the NL Central.
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