Astros' Bryan Abreu Suspended 2 Games, Fined for Throwing at Rangers' Adolis García

Houston Astros relief pitcher Bryan Abreu has been suspended two games after Major League Baseball deemed that he intentionally threw at Texas Rangers outfielder Adolis García in Game 5 of the American League Championship Series on Friday, per ESPN's Jeff Passan.

However, Abreu is expected to appeal, per Passan. If so, then there will be a hearing within 48 hours. A loss would result in Abreu serving the suspension during the playoffs if Houston is still alive.

Abreu went up and in with a 99 mph fastball to lead off García's at-bat in the bottom of the eighth inning, leading to ejections for both players and eventually Houston manager Dusty Baker. Abreu, García and Baker also received undisclosed fines.

Two frames earlier, García hit a huge three-run homer to give Texas a 4-2 edge. The right fielder admired his shot, which may have drawn Houston's ire.

Abreu told reporters postgame that he didn't hit García on purpose. García, obviously, believes otherwise and said afterward that what happened was "not right."

Hitting García in that moment made no sense from a competitive standpoint. At the time, Houston was down 4-2 in the bottom of the eighth with a runner on first and no one out. A loss in that game would have put Houston down three games to two in the ALCS.

On the flip side, the Astros simply could have been agitated about the home run reaction, and there's also been some bad blood festering between the two sides from the regular season in a benches-clearing incident that also involved García.

MLB ultimately believes that Abreu threw the pitch on that purpose, and that opinion ultimately trumps whatever the reliever's true intent was with that fastball, whether it be an intentional beaning or a pitch that just got away.

Houston ended up winning the game 5-4 to take a 3-2 ALCS lead after a Jose Altuve three-run homer in the top of the ninth.

Now the series shifts back to Houston, where the Astros can close this out in Game 6 on Sunday at 8:03 p.m. ET.