Mike Shildt Suspended 1 Game After Benches Clear in Cardinals vs. Brewers

St. Louis Cardinals manager Mike Shildt has been suspended one game and fined by Major League Baseball for his part in a bench-clearing incident against the Milwaukee Brewers on Tuesday. 

According to MLB.com's Mark Feinsand, Shildt will serve his punishment during Game 2 of a doubleheader against Milwaukee on Wednesday.

No punches were thrown between the two teams and Shildt is officially getting reprimanded for "actions that contributed to inciting the benches-clearing incident". 

Shildt may not have been the initial instigator, but he no doubt helped escalate the situation. 

In the bottom of the fifth inning, with the Cards getting blown out 12-2 in an eventual 18-3 loss, Shildt went to check on Yadier Molina after Milwaukee's Ryan Braun hit the catcher's wrist with a swing during his at-bat. While at the plate, Shildt was able to hear some of the Brewers talking trash and began to take issue.

Here's how Shildt explained the incident to reporters postgame (h/t MLB.com's Adam McCalvy)

“I don’t know where the insult came from. I feel like it was more directed to me, quite honestly,” Shildt said. “Did I do anything to warrant it? Perhaps. I was staring in the dugout. I will accept that. My hearing doesn’t suffer at all with a mask on.

“But I did, I did stare into the dugout. I can’t be happy with the fact that -- and look, Braun’s been in this league for a long time, he’s a good player, he’s a really good player, he’s had nice series against us. I want to make sure this is clear: There is no allegation against Ryan Braun, necessarily. It just didn’t look good. It’s the [third] catcher's inference [sic] since a guy that’s caught since [June 3, 2004], when he made his debut. It just didn’t look good when a little bit of conversation that took place prior to it. …

“There was a look in the dugout, there was something said, and at that point, all bets are off.”

Brewers manager Craig Counsell called the moment a result of miscommunication.

As Shildt serves his punishment on Wednesday, the Cardinals will look to respond not only to the fracas, but a blowout loss in the middle of a playoff race.