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Tigers pitcher Rick Porcello suspended six games for intentionally throwing at Ben Zobrist

Mike Oz

The Detroit Tigers will be without starting pitcher Rick Porcello for six games — which may not be that horrible of a thing when you consider his 5.21 ERA this season.

Porcello was suspended six games by Major League Baseball for intentionally throwing at Ben Zobrist of the Tampa Bay Rays on Sunday. Porcello plunked Zobrist in retaliation for Saturday's game in which Rays closer Fernando Rodney threw a pitch high and tight to Tigers slugger Miguel Cabrera.

After Saturday's game Tigers skipper Jim Leyland said there would be a "price to pay for that," as part of his post-game rant on the Rodney-to-Cabrera pitch:

"I don't care about throwing inside, but I don't like it up there," Leyland said. "We will not tolerate that. You can take that to the bank. We won't tolerate that up at the head, with anybody, not (just) Cabrera, but anybody. I'm not accusing anybody of anything, but we won't tolerate that. If you're going to just rare back and throw it, you can't throw it there. If you throw it down at the legs in or something for a purpose, I don't have any problem with that. But not upstairs."

Porcello got even for the Tigers, then both benches were warned and the Rays didn't take a step further.

While this didn't lead to as much of a fallout as the recent Dbacks-Dodgers fracas, you may want to keep an eye on the next time the Tigers and Rays play. It won't be this season, as the two won't meet again, but you know baseball, these things linger.

In the matter of Porcello's suspension, MLive.com is reporting that he'll appeal.

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