Pirates' Chris Devenski, Don Kelly suspended over Saturday's incident against Reds
PHOENIX — The Pirates will be down a pitcher for the first two games of the Diamondbacks series and manager Don Kelly for one after Major League Baseball suspended Chris Devenski for intentionally throwing at Cincinnati’s Sal Stewart in the seventh inning of the Saturday’s game.
MLB announced the moves, which are accompanied by undisclosed fines, on Tuesday. Devenski was originally suspended for three games, but a settlement was reached to knock it down to two. Kelly will still be suspended for Tuesday's game, and bench coach Kristopher Negrón will run the team.
Devenski, who had his contract selected from Triple-A Indianapolis last Wednesday, insisted he never intentionally tried to hit Stewart, that he was simply throwing inside.
“Going hard [inside] to start an at-bat,” Devenski said that night. “I know the guy likes to dive over [the plate]. Just trying to execute my pitch there, and I think he took it the wrong way.
“It is what it is. Hey, I’m not going to back down from anything, either.”
During the at-bat, there was seemingly a disagreement over when Stewart was in the box and ready to hit. Then after Devenski went inside with a sinker for the first pitch of the at-bat, Stewart lost his helmet and voiced his frustration.
At that point, crew chief Alan Porter -- who was at first base -- brought everyone together, and they determined Devenski did it on purpose. The Pirates replaced Devenski with Yohan Ramirez, who got Stewart to line out to right field in a 17-7 Pittsburgh win.
“We had the situation leading up to it with [Devenski] stepping off the rubber and [Stewart] stepping out of the box,” Porter said Saturday in a pool report. “Still had time and stepped out. After that, [Devenski] stepped up, fired the pitch and we believe threw it at him intentionally. That’s why we ejected him.”
The timing isn't ideal for the Pirates, who swept the Reds over the weekend but have experienced depth issues at the front end of their bullpen.
Bubba Chandler, Paul Skenes and Mitch Keller are scheduled to start against the Diamondbacks. Carmen Mlodzinski theoretically lines up for Friday in San Francisco. The Pirates will likely need Skenes and Keller to go deep.
Through 35 games, Pirates relievers had worked 143 2/3 innings, sixth-most in MLB.
Devenski has appeared in three games for the Pirates, allowing two earned runs in 2 1/3 innings. He's in his 11th MLB season having already pitched for the Astros, Rays, Diamondbacks, Angels, Mets and Phillies.
Jason Mackey: Jason.Mackey@pirates.com and @JMackey_PGH.