Major League Baseball suspended Mets manager Buck Showalter for their matchup against the Atlanta Braves Monday night — the decision coming down just moments before first pitch — for what the league deemed as an intentional call for reliever Yoan Lopez to throw at Philadelphia Phillies slugger Kyle Schwarber during Sunday night’s victory.
Lopez was suspended for three games and fined (Showalter was fined, too) for the incident in question, which came in the ninth inning when the reliever threw a fastball inside on Schwarber at knee height that brushed the batter back, but did not hit him.
Umpire Jerry Meals warned both benches, though Lopez hit the very next batter, Alec Bohm, with a changeup. This all coming after New York star shortstop Francisco Lindor was hit in the previous half-inning, making him the 20th batter to be hit in the team’s first 23 games this season.
Schwarber hit a pair of home runs on Sunday night, though New York managed to win their seventh-consecutive series to start the season with a 10-6 victory in the rubber game. Scwharber has now hit 16 home runs in 36 career games against the Mets.
The Mets enter Monday night with a 16-7 record and a three-game lead in the NL East.
