Uceta (2 games), Cash (1) suspended for HBP of Castellanos

PHILADELPHIA -- Rays reliever Edwin Uceta received a three-game suspension and an undisclosed fine on Wednesday for intentionally throwing at Nick Castellanos of the Phillies during the bottom of the eighth inning of Tuesday night’s 9-4 Phillies win at Citizens Bank Park, which led to both dugouts and bullpens emptying in a heated moment.

Rays manager Kevin Cash also received a one-game suspension -- which he served on Wednesday night -- and a fine as a result of Uceta’s actions.

Uceta’s suspension, which he began serving on Wednesday, was reduced to two games, so he will be eligible to return Friday night in Cleveland. In the meantime, the Rays will play a pitcher short.

“That’s normal after altercations like that. What happened last night happened,” Uceta said with Rays communications director Elvis Martinez serving as the interpreter. “Trying to move on. I respect MLB’s decision, and I’m just going to keep working to finish the season strong.”

Cash said he spoke Wednesday morning with Michael Hill, MLB’s senior vice president for on-field operations, and was “fully understanding” of both the Phillies’ reaction and the league’s disciplinary decisions.

“MLB has protocol, and we’re going to follow it,” Cash said. “Talked to Michael this morning, made all the sense. Would like to find a way to move on.”

As he did Tuesday night, Uceta insisted on Wednesday afternoon that he did not hit Castellanos on purpose. But he clarified one confusing aspect of his postgame comments, when he said through team interpreter Manny Navarro that the 96.2 mph fastball was “a changeup that kind of got away.”

Uceta said that remark was incorrectly translated and offered a clarification.

“What I said last night was that I was trying to establish my fastball in so my changeup could work better later on,” Uceta said through Martinez. “That’s what I said. It got mistranslated last night, so I just want to apologize about that, just want to clarify that.

“It was not intentional. I was trying to work inside with my fastball -- which is what I hit him with -- to set up my changeup. That’s what I said last night, and that’s what I’m going to say again today, because that’s what I was doing.”

Asked what he learned, Uceta said he was “just trying not to think about it too much” and is “just trying to move on.” The plunking set off a fiery reaction in the Phillies' clubhouse, specifically from Castellanos and Bryce Harper, but Uceta said he didn’t see any of it, as he shut off his phone upon returning to the team hotel Tuesday night.

Castellanos told reporters that Cash approached him on the field early Wednesday afternoon and apologized. Castellanos said he appreciated Cash’s words and the “sincere” gesture.

"I have respect for Cash for being honest and sticking up,” Castellanos said. “There's a right way to play the game, and there's a wrong way to play the game. You know, just admitting that is all that I could ask for and [I’m] moving forward."

On Tuesday night, Cash acknowledged that Uceta “probably lost his composure a little bit” in an unfamiliar situation. The manager added Wednesday that Uceta appeared to have learned from the incident.

“In the conversations that we’ve had, I think he’s already learned of this just how much it’s been talked about, and probably, the negative attention that’s surrounding the club that we work really hard to try to avoid,” Cash said. “Last night was probably not one of our best nights.”

The 26-year-old right-hander had been on an incredible run for the Rays since establishing himself earlier this summer as one of their top high-leverage relievers. He entered Tuesday’s outing with a 0.79 ERA and 50 strikeouts in 36 innings over 24 appearances, and he was coming off an impressive five-out save in Baltimore on Sunday.

But the eighth inning quickly got away from Uceta, turning a 4-4 tie into a five-run deficit. He gave up a two-run double to Cal Stevenson, an RBI single to Buddy Kennedy, a two-run homer to Trea Turner and a double to Harper.

That brought up Castellanos, who said he felt an “overwhelming sense that I was about to get drilled” when he stepped into the batter’s box. He was hit by Uceta’s first-pitch fastball, one of his hardest pitches of the season.

“I mean, you're throwing a baseball over 90 mph. You're frustrated and you're going to throw at somebody?” Castellanos said. “That's like my 2-year-old throwing a fit because I take away his dessert before he's finished."

Castellanos was immediately and obviously upset, and Harper also shouted at Uceta as he walked toward the mound from second base before Rays shortstop José Caballero intervened.

Both benches and bullpens emptied, with plenty of words exchanged but no real fighting, and Uceta was ejected.

“Just trying to catch Bryce at the moment, trying to avoid a mess,” Caballero said. “It was already a mess. I didn't want it to get worse.”