Cincinnati Reds pitcher Amir Garrett suspended 7 games after benches-clearing incident vs. Chicago Cubs

Cincinnati Reds pitcher Amir Garrett was suspended for seven games Tuesday for "inciting a benches-clearing incident" during Saturday's game against the Chicago Cubs.

Garrett, who was fined an undisclosed amount, is appealing the suspension and remains eligible to play during the appeals process. Michael Hill, MLB's senior VP for on-field operations, announced the discipline.

Javier Báez, who hopped the dugout railing when he was yelling at Garrett, was not suspended. He received an undisclosed fine.

The incident started when Garrett struck out Anthony Rizzo in the eighth inning. Garrett shouted from the mound and pounded his chest multiple times. The Cubs saw it as disrespectful to Rizzo; Garrett said it was "pent-up aggression" from his struggles this season.

Several Cubs players, particularly Báez, let Garrett know how they felt about it by yelling at him from the dugout. Garrett yelled back at Báez while waiting for the next batter, then Báez jumped the dugout railing and gestured for Garrett to come to him. The benches emptied but there were no punches and no ejections.

"I felt really good, throwing 97 (mph), slider up to 87," Garrett said. "I felt my normal self, so when I struck Rizzo out, I let him know. I let him know 'I'm back.' I'm good. I'm here. That's basically all it was.

"I turn around, got the ball and heard Báez chirping. So, I'm going to chirp back. It's fine. We weren't going to fight because that split second that we had that much time to get to each other, I can get to him if I wanted to and he can get to me. We weren't going to fight. We're going to exchange words, blah, blah, blah. Benches clear, hold me back, whatever."

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It's the second time a Reds player has been suspended for actions prior to a benches-clearing incident this season. MLB suspended Nick Castellanos for two games, which was upheld after an appeal, when he stood over Cardinals pitcher Jake Woodford while scoring on a wild pitch and yelling, "Let's (expletive) go!"

Castellanos said the league cited healthy and safety protocols for the reason to uphold his suspension during his appeal process.

Garrett was suspended for eight games when he charged the Pittsburgh Pirates dugout in a brawl on July 30, 2019.

"I had no intentions on fighting (Báez) because, obviously if I'd wanted to, I would have gone and got him," Garrett said. "It was a lot of pent-up aggression from my performance. It is what it is."

Báez and Cubs manager David Ross criticized Garrett for his actions in their post-game interviews Saturday.

“That’s not the way that baseball is intended to go, but I think that’s his style," Ross said. "I don’t agree with it. I think it’s garbage, but he’s not on my team.”

Báez added: "He needs to respect the game. If he doesn't respect the game and if doesn't respect us, then that's going to happen because he's doing that to us. He's not doing it to pump (up) his teammates. He's disrespecting us."

Garrett, who spoke to reporters after Sunday's game, said he knew that things weren't going to escalate further, even when Báez hopped the dugout railing and gestured to him.

"Brother, he didn't jump over the railing and try to come at me, I can promise you that," Garrett said. "He jumped over the rail, stood there and yelled. We're grown men. If you want to come and get me, you can come and get me. If I wanted to go and get him, I could've went and got him, but I wasn't trying to take it there. It's a waste of my time and money and all that.

"We can chirp and chirp and chirp all you want, but we'll just leave it there because you don't want to go past that. Not with me."

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Reds' Amir Garrett suspended 7 games after benches cleared vs. Cubs