Sports

Pirates Pitcher Receives MLB Punishment for Throwing at Reds Batter

By Jordan Sigler Newsweek

The MLB sent the Pittsburgh Pirates a message on Tuesday aftet a nasty incident that occurred during Saturday’s game between the Pirates and Cincinnati Reds.

In the seventh inning, with the Pirates up 15-6, reliever Chris Devenski intentionally threw at Reds rookie first baseman Sal Stewart.

Stewart jumped back in the batter's box to avoid being hit by the pitch and complained to the umpire about the throw.

After a brief umpire meeting, Devenski was ejected from the game after throwing at Stewart.

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Pittsburgh won the contest 17-7.

Per the Associated Press, the MLB handed Devenski a two-game suspension and a fine for the incident. The league did not disclose the amount of the fine. He will begin serving the suspension on Tuesday night for the Pirates contest against the Arizona Diamondbacks.

In addition to Devenski’s punishment, the MLB suspended Pirates manager Don Kelly for one game (Tuesday night) and issued him a fine.

After the game, Devenski argued that he wasn’t trying to hit Stewart, but wanted to make the rookie a little nervous because of his tendency to hover over home plate.

"Going hard [inside] to start an at-bat," Devenski said, via the MLB. "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."

The MLB didn’t see it that way after reviewing the tape.

The suspensions will be costly for the 19-16 Pirates. Pittsburgh enters Tuesday night’s game in fourth place in the heated National League Central and four games back from the first-place Chicago Cubs.

Devenski, 35, has appeared in three games this season. He has an ERA of 7.71 with three strikeouts.

For more on thePirates and the MLB head to Newsweek Sports.

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This story was originally published May 5, 2026 at 6:23 PM.