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Brett Lawrie slid too hard into Alcides Escobar on Friday, setting off a series of events that saw Lawrie hit by a pitch and thrown at, with all kinds of text message drama and postgame comments thrown in as well. Now, following the conclusion of the A's and Royals fighting over a slide and their pride, Major League Baseball has handed out their punishments:
#Royals Herrera suspended 5 games Ventura fined for issues with #Athletics
— Joel Sherman (@Joelsherman1) April 21, 2015
You knew Herrera was going to get suspended, the question was more "for how long?" Five games is nothing for a starter, but for a reliever, that's most of his work week cut out. As for the A's ...
No fines for any #Athletics players or coaches.
— Susan Slusser (@susanslusser) April 21, 2015
... nothing. Which shouldn't come as a surprise, even if it will upset Royals' fans: there was the chance their actions would be viewed by MLB as escalating an already finished situation, and since Herrera is the one who got suspended while Scott Kazmir's earlier hit by pitch went unpunished, that's precisely what occurred.
The Royals and A's next play each other on June 26 in Oakland, in case you were wondering when this battle could resume.