Lengthy suspension for opponent who threw baseball at Dragons player during brawl

A pair of Dayton Dragons and three West Michigan Whitecaps have been suspended by the Midwest League for their actions during a bench-clearing brawl May 28 at Fifth Third Field.

The harshest penalty was doled out to West Michigan’s Eduardo Jimenez, who was suspended 30 games for throwing a baseball at Dragons pitcher Jesse Stallings during the fracas.

»WATCH: Opponent fires baseball at Dragons player during brawl

For Dayton, Jose Siri was suspended three games and starting pitcher Wennington Romero four games.

West Michigan shortstop Danny Pinero (five games) and pitcher Spenser Watkins (one game) also were suspended.

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The melee began when Siri stole second and had his ankle stepped on by Pinero. Siri took exception and went after Pinero to spark the altercation. Jimenez left the Whitecaps’ bullpen to join the donnybrook and fired a ball from close range that hit Stallings in the leg. He was not injured.

“Jose didn’t do anything wrong at the beginning, but I think the punch after he got up is what put up the red flag for the league,” Dragons manager Luis Bolivar said Thursday night. “Jose is stepping up and taking accountability for his actions and paying his consequences.”

Siri has been one of the Dragons’ better players, hitting .264 with 23 RBIs and a league-best 19 stolen bases. Romero is 3-1 with a 2.83 ERA in 11 starts.

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