Blue Jays starting pitcher Marcus Stroman suspended six games

Blue Jays starting pitcher Marcus Stroman has been suspended six games after throwing a pitch near the head of Baltimore Orioles catcher Caleb Joseph in the sixth inning of their game on Monday night.

At first it appeared Stroman would avoid discipline for the incident but after further review MLB decided to levy a suspension and an undisclosed fine, even as the Blue Jays pitcher maintained that he felt “awful” and was not the "kind of guy to throw at anyone’s head.”

The Orioles were furious, believing the pitch to be "intentional" and manager Buck Showalter called Stroman's actions and behaviour “borderline professionally embarrassing.”

It was seen as retaliation for a play earlier in the game when Joseph and Jays shortstop Jose Reyes got tangled up at the plate and Joseph appeared to step on Reyes' hand.

Stroman is scheduled to make two more starts this season, leading to the question of whether or not the team should shut him down for the rest of the year.

The suspension is a small sour mark in what has been an otherwise terrific rookie season for the 23-year-old. Stroman made his major-league debut in mid-May and has posted a 3.80 ERA/2.99 FIP and been worth 2.9 wins above replacement over 120 2/3 innings for the Blue Jays.