Detroit Tigers’ Rick Porcello Suspended Six Games For Plunking Ben Zobrist

Jun 30, 2013; St. Petersburg, FL, USA; Tampa Bay Rays second baseman Ben Zobrist (18) reacts as he walks to first after he was hit by a pitch from Detroit Tigers starting pitcher Rick Porcello (not pictured) and umpire Vic Carapazza (85) points as he warns the managers during the first inning at Tropicana Field. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

According to CBS Sports’ Danny Knobler, Major League Baseball has decided to suspend Rick Porcello for six games for hitting Ben Zobrist with a pitch.

Porcello plunked Zobrist as “retaliation” for a head-high fastball that Fernando Rodney delievered to Miguel Cabrera the night before.

Rick Porcello and the Detroit Tigers will surely file an appeal which would delay the suspension for a time. It’s possible that — if the Tigers play their cards right and depending on the timing of the appeal process — they could drop the appeal just before the All-Star Break and use the days off to simply reshuffle their pitching order, effectively eliminating effect the suspension. They would need a decision on the appeal to be held up for at least nine more days in order for this strategy to work.