MLB suspends Giants’ Matt Chapman, fines Rafael Devers and two others over bench-clearing incident vs. Rockies

Following a controversial bench-clearing brawl on Tuesday, San Francisco Giants infielder Matt Chapman has been suspended for a game. Rafael Devers, Willy Adames and Colorado Rockies starter Kyle Freeland have been fined for their involvement in the incident.

Kyle Freeland took exception to Giants star Rafael Devers admiring his two-run home run in the first inning of Tuesday's game. Freeland was seen shouting at Devers from the mound in protest as Matt Chapman and Willy Adames charged towards the Rockies starter.

Chapman pushed Freeland before Adames confronted the pitcher, which led to a benches-clearing brawl. The Giants third baseman was the only player to receive a suspension as he was deemed to be the instigator. However, Giants manager Bob Melvin disagreed with the assessment as Chapman is appealing the suspension.

“We didn’t feel like we started it,” Bob Melvin said. “It is what it is. We’ll deal with it going forward. We’ll see what happens in the appeal.”

The five-time Gold Glove winner's suspension will not come into effect until the appeal process is resolved, making him eligible to play for the Giants.

Matt Chapman dishes out punishment to Rockies in historic Giants win

An early ejection on Tuesday and the announcement of the suspension on Wednesday seemingly lit a fire in Matt Champman's belly. The third baseman took it out on the Rockies pitching staff in the series finale on Wednesday, smashing two home runs in a 10-8 win for the Giants.

Chapman's first home run of the night meant the Giants had hit a home run for a 17th consecutive game, a new franchise record. His second, a three-run blast in the sixth inning, restored the Giants' lead and San Francisco held on for a 10th win in 11 games and a series sweep against the Rockies.

About the author

Chaitanya Prakash is an editor who covers US Sports at Sportskeeda. His first brush with sportswriting was in 2012 when the greatest football manager of all time, Sir Alex Ferguson, bid farewell to the beautiful game.

Although having started out professionally as a cricket writer in 2022, Chaitanya's curiosity and indiscriminate interest in all sports in general eventually introduced him to America's favorite pastime.

While Chaitanya's favorite player from the current crop is the dynamic Venezuelan Ronald Acuna Jr., his all-time favorite, however, is Pedro Martinez, for his self-belief and consistency. He also rates Jose Bautista's iconic bat flip in 2015 as his favorite moment in baseball history.

Chaitanya specializes in reporting on technical aspects of the game or analyzing patterns behind specific plays. He also likes pondering over players' self-assessments following the conclusion of a game as it helps him get an idea of how they think about the sport in general.

When not cheering for his favorites across sports, Chaitanya likes being transported to the past through a good war documentary or a historical documentary in general.

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Edited by Chaitanya Prakash