Chris Sale Reportedly Likely to Be Suspended for Throwing Behind Manny Machado

Boston Red Sox starting pitcher Chris Sale may face a suspension for throwing a pitch behind Baltimore Orioles third baseman Manny Machado, Fox Sports' Ken Rosenthal reported Wednesday. 

Rosenthal clarified that a warning or fine are also on the table for Sale.

Both the Orioles and the Red Sox received warnings after Sale's pitch hit the backstop in the top of the first inning of Boston's 5-2 victory Tuesday at Fenway Park.

Machado was less than enthused about continuing to be targeted by Red Sox pitchers:

The drama between the two teams refuses to die down despite seemingly having ended during the three-game series in Baltimore that ended April 23.

During the Red Sox's 6-2 win in the final game of that series, Eduardo Rodriguez tried and failed to hit Machado with three pitches at the knee. Matt Barnes then threw a pitch near Machado's head in the bottom of the eighth, which resulted in an ejection:

Machado's slide into Dustin Pedroia on April 21 is the genesis of the ongoing feud. Machado inadvertently spiked Pedroia in the leg, which caused him to miss three games.

Machado denied he intentionally tried to injure Pedroia, and the Red Sox second baseman attempted to defuse the situation by moving on as quickly as possible. His teammates continue to seek revenge against the Orioles star nonetheless.

Baseball implicitly allows a level of frontier justice and self-policing on the field, but it wouldn't come as a surprise if Sale's actions Tuesday night drew a punishment from MLB, considering everything that has transpired.