Ryan Dempster Gets a Suspension for Hitting A-Rod

Ryan Dempster may have won himself some bloodthirsty fans when he nailed Alex Rodriguez on a  3-0 pitch Sunday night, but he did not endear himself to Major League Baseball, which announced Tuesday that he’d been fined an undisclosed amount and suspended for five games (which, when you’re a starting pitcher, works out to one appearance on the mound.)

Fenway was especially unfriendly territory when Rodriguez arrived here this weekend in the midst of his performance-enhancing drug scandal, and the Fenway crowd went wild when Dempster nailed him. Dempster wasn’t ejected from the game, unlike Yankees manager Joe Girardi (whose loud protests earned him an MLB fine today as well.)

As is tradition, Dempster implausibly denied that he’d hit A-Rod intentionally, saying, ““I was just trying to pitch inside.” A-Rod didn’t buy it, telling reporters, “That was unprofessional and silly.” The MLB didn’t buy it either:

Ryan Dempster has received a 5-game suspension & undisclosed fine for intentionally throwing at & hitting Alex Rodriguez on Sunday.

— MLB Public Relations (@MLB_PR) August 20, 2013

Of course, previous to this, public sentiment seemed to offer Dempster some support:

Guess who thinks Ryan Dempster should be suspended! pic.twitter.com/HtzW7KcVU5

— MLB Memes (@MLBMeme) August 20, 2013

But couple this suspension with Rodriguez’s home run and the Yankees’ victory Sunday, and Dempster can’t be feeling amazing about this whole affair.