Stras, Davey won't face suspensions from league

CHICAGO -- Mark Zuckerman of CSNWashington.com reported that Major League Baseball has decided not to suspend Nationals starting pitcher Stephen Strasburg or manager Davey Johnson following Strasburg's plunking of the Braves' Justin Upton and pair of pitches thrown behind Andrelton Simmons on Saturday night.

Both Strasburg and Johnson were ejected from that game following a warning issued by umpire Marvin Hudson when Strasburg hit Upton.

The decision not to issue suspensions for Strasburg or Johnson came on the same day that MLB issued a five-game suspension for Red Sox right-hander Ryan Dempster for hitting Alex Rodriguez with a pitch after first throwing behind him in Sunday night's game against the Yankees. Dempster wasn't ejected.

Johnson said Tuesday that he's happy with the decision.

"I think that's a great decision," Johnson said. "I was happy to hear that they made a decision on Dempster, and he [hit Rodriguez] on Sunday night and [our game] happened on Saturday, so I figured we weren't probably going to get suspended, at least."

Strasburg's plunking of Upton and pitches behind Simmons came after the Braves hit Bryce Harper twice in the series, leading the outfielder to be scratched from the starting lineup Saturday due to a left triceps muscle bruise sustained from one of the pitches.

While MLB has not officially announced the decision not to issue suspensions, a league source confirmed it, saying that upon review by the Commissioner's office, there wasn't evidence that Strasburg intentionally threw at Simmons.

Strasburg and Johnson could still face fines, however.