MLB: Mets' Yohan Ramírez, Carlos Mendoza Suspended for Throwing at Rhys Hoskins

New York Mets pitcher Yohan Ramírez and manager Carlos Mendoza have each been suspended after Major League Baseball ruled that Ramírez intentionally pitched at Milwaukee Brewers first baseman Rhys Hoskins on Saturday, per Anthony DiComo of MLB.com.

Ramírez has been suspended three games, though he is appealing, while Mendoza was suspended one game and will serve his punishment on Sunday.

Ramírez was ejected from Saturday's game after throwing at Hoskins in the seventh inning. There was plenty of background to the pitch.

During the Opening Day matchup between the teams on Friday, Mets second baseman Jeff McNeil took issue with a Hoskins slide into second base, clearly feeling it was dirty, though official replay found no infraction on Hoskins' part.

That led to the benches clearing, an animated McNeil cursing at Hoskins and the Brewers' first baseman pantomiming a crybaby gesture in response.

Hoskins said after Friday's game that he didn't understand what McNeil was upset about, while McNeil claimed that Hoskins has a history of dirty slides:

That set the stage for Saturday. Hoskins—who is no stranger to a rivalry with the Mets after spending the first seven seasons of his career with the Philadelphia Phillies—absolutely torched New York, going 3-for-4 with a homer and four RBI.

He implied that he didn't believe the pitch that sailed past his head was an accident.

"Big leaguers don't miss by eight feet," he told reporters. "... Yeah. Whether it was on purpose or not, that's not for me to decide. I really don't care. But this game has had a way of policing itself for many, many, many years. So let's focus on doing it the right way if we're going to do that."

Ramírez argued that he lost grip on his sinker, leading to the wild pitch.

"I was trying to throw my sinker inside, and sometimes when I try to get it too in, the ball just runs, honestly," he said. "With this type of weather, I don't have the grip that I'm accustomed to having. At that point, the ball just ran. But I wasn't trying to hit him."

Major League Baseball clearly wasn't buying the explanation.