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Mariners' Gabe Speier Receives Punishment from MLB After Tigers Game
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- Mariners' Gabe Speier Receives Punishment from MLB After Tigers Game
Seattle Mariners reliever Gabe Speier is facing the consequences for instigating a benches-clearing incident on Wednesday.
In the eighth inning of Seattle's 4-2 win over the Detroit Tigers , Speier threw two inside fastballs towards Tigers second baseman Gleyber Torres , hitting him with the second pitch. This prompted both teams' benches to clear, as the Tigers saw this as retaliation; in the previous inning, Detroit reliever Enmanuel De Jesus plunked Mariners catcher Cal Raleigh with a fastball.
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After deliberation from the umpires, Speier was ejected as his pitches to Torres were considered intentional. Mariners manager Dan Wilson was also ejected shortly afterwards for arguing the decision.
On Thursday, Major League Baseball announced that Speier will receive a three-game suspension and a fine for his actions. Wilson additionally received a one-game suspension, which he will serve today. Although he didn't protest the ejection on Wednesday, Speier intends to appeal the suspension, which allows him to pitch until MLB decides on upholding the ruling.
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Both De Jesus and Speier throw fastballs in the mid-90s, and De Jesus's pitch that hit Raleigh was clocked at 94.7 mph. Speier's two pitches to Torres were 95.9 mph and 96.3 mph. Raleigh, who battled an oblique strain this season, was slow to get up after being hit.
According to Torres, he tried to de-escalate any tension before Speier threw at him during his at-bat by talking to Raleigh and seeing if he was alright.
"I told (Raleigh) I don't really believe we hit him on purpose. I tried to tell him, 'De Jesus hit you with two strikes. It wasn't on purpose,'" Torres said. "I don't try to fight with anybody. I'm not that type of guy."
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The conversation with Raleigh may have given Speier the wrong idea, resulting in his response. Torres said the pitch "got him good" in the thigh, but "appreciated" that the Mariners' lefty didn't throw at his head.
With Wilson serving his suspension, Mariners bench coach Manny Acta will serve as manager for today's game, with first pitch scheduled for 4 PM EST. Raleigh is not in Seattle's lineup, while Torres is playing second base and batting second for Detroit.
This story was originally published by Athlon Sports on Aug 6, 2026, where it first appeared in the MLB section. Add Athlon Sports as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
