Gary Sanchez Suspension Cut To 3 Games, Begins Monday
BALTIMORE (CBSNewYork/AP) -- Yankees catcher Gary Sanchez had his suspension reduced from four games to three after appealing his punishment for his part in a brawl against Detroit.
Sanchez will begin serving the MLB suspension Monday and will miss New York's three-game series against the Orioles.
The suspension stems from the Aug. 24 game against the Tigers. Yankees reliever Tommy Kahnle threw behind Miguel Cabrera in the sixth inning, and Kahnle was ejected.
But before play resumed, Cabrera and New York catcher Austin Romine scuffled near home plate. Sanchez, the designated hitter, left the bench and punched both Cabrera and Nick Castellanos.
Sanchez released a statement on Facebook on Monday apologizing for his actions in the fight.
"The heat of the moment and my desire to protect my teammates led me to commit some errors during the brawl," he wrote. "It's an incident I regret and from which I have learned. I know to some these may be mere words, but they are words that I feel the need to express because I sincerely feel this way, and for respect to you, the fans, the Yankees organization, the Detroit Tigers and the game of Baseball."
New York trails first-place Boston by 3½ games in the AL East and holds the league's top wild-card spot. The series with the Orioles could be a pivotal one. Baltimore sits 3½ games behind the Yankees and has won nine of its last 11 games.
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Sanchez is hitting .276 with 28 homers and 79 RBIs. Since Aug. 9, he's batting .314 with 11 home runs.
(© Copyright 2017 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
