Abner Uribe is going to have to pay after his “unacceptable” celebration on the mound.
The Milwaukee Brewers relief pitcher was issued a one-game suspension and fined an undisclosed amount by Major League Baseball on Friday. The punishment came after Uribe pulled out a crotch chop celebration during the team’s 6-0 win over the St. Louis Cardinals on Tuesday.
Uribe is appealing the suspension, which was to be applied for Friday’s road matchup with the Houston Astros, according to MLB.
The Brewers reliever closed out the eighth inning of Milwaukee’s win over the Cardinals on Tuesday. Immediately after the final strike of the inning was called, Uribe turned and made three massive crotch chop gestures toward the Cardinals dugout.
The Brewers were up by six runs at the time, and the final pitch was upheld after a Cardinals challenge.
Brewers manager Pat Murphy called out his pitcher after the game.
“I don’t know what got over him,” Murphy said. “I mean, he’s an emotional guy, but that kind of thing, that’s just not how we do things.
“I’m embarrassed by it. Why are we doing it? It’s a 6-0 game. What are we doing there?”
Uribe apologized for his actions on Tuesday night through an interpreter, though he did shift some of the blame to the Cardinals. He claimed that St. Louis manager Oliver Marmol was making signs to his players during Monday’s game between the two teams that was signaling to hit Brewers batters intentionally. Uribe didn’t elaborate, and Marmol declined to get into Uribe’s actions on Tuesday night.
Uribe is in his fourth season in the league this year. The 25-year-old holds a 2-2 record and a 4.19 ERA in 21 appearances this season.
“I love the kid. Believe me, I love the kid,” Murphy said. “There’s so much good in this kid. He’s been so great for us in so many ways, but that’s unacceptable. So, whatever’s going on, you can’t tolerate that. For his teammates, and for everything, it’s not going to be tolerated, that’s all there is to it.”