Tony La Russa, pitcher Mike Wright suspended after intentionally hitting Shohei Ohtani
Chicago White Sox pitcher Mike Wright and manager Tony La Russa were both suspended on Saturday after Wright intentionally hit Los Angeles Angels star Shohei Ohtani on Thursday night, Major League Baseball announced on Saturday.
Wright, who hit Ohtani in the ninth inning of Thursday’s game in Chicago, was suspended for three games. La Russa was fined and suspended for one game, and will serve that on Saturday night. Wright, who was also fined, is appealing the suspension.
La Russa ejected after Wright hit Ohtani with pitch
Wright was pitching to Ohtani in the top of the ninth inning on Thursday, and threw four pitches. Two of them barely missed Ohtani’s legs before the fourth pitch hit him.
Umpires quickly convened near the mound before ejecting Wright for intentionally hitting Ohtani. La Russa, after slowly walking out to argue, was also ejected and threw something in the dugout before walking back to the clubhouse.
Here was the sequence that ended with Shohei Ohtani getting plunked
Joe Maddon thought the White Sox were throwing intentionally. Tony La Russa (who was not happy about being ejected) claimed they were not https://t.co/9k6fGhrVeZ pic.twitter.com/WSxgK9sHtI— Jack Harris (@Jack_A_Harris) September 16, 2021
“It was retaliatory,” Angels manager Joe Maddon said after the game, referencing a pair of White Sox players who were hit by Angels pitchers earlier in the series, via The Associated Press.
La Russa, though, didn’t see it that way.
“It wasn’t intentional,” he said, via The Associated Press. “[Umpire Bill Welke] read it wrong. It wasn’t consistent with No. 1, the way they treated the three hit by pitches. Secondly, where was our retaliation? It looks bad to our pitcher and our team. It’s disappointing.”
The Angels beat the White Sox 9-3 to close out their series, and hand them their fifth loss in eight games.