BOSTON — New York Yankees pitcher Michael Pineda was suspended for 10 games Thursday after being caught using pine tar. He said he won’t appeal the penalty that will cost him two starts.
“I accept it,” Pineda said before Thursday night’s game at Fenway Park. “I know I made a mistake.”
The commissioner’s office announced the ban, which started immediately.
Pineda was ejected in the second inning of Wednesday night’s 5-1 loss at Fenway Park after umpires found the pine tar on his neck.
After the game, Pineda admitted he used the pine tar to help him grip the ball on a cool, windy night.
“I feel so bad,” Pineda said Thursday.
Pineda said he had never used pine tar before this season.
The ejection set off a debate in the baseball world about pitchers who try pine tar, and whether it should be allowed in certain circumstances. Many former aces said they had done it, albeit in a more discreet manner.
Rule 8.02(b) prohibits pitchers from altering the ball to gain an unfair advantage, and forbids them from having a foreign substance on them or in their possession on the mound.
Pineda wasn’t seen with the pine tar in the first inning, when the Red Sox roughed him up. Boston manager John Farrell asked plate umpire Gerry Davis to check Pineda after two fast outs the next inning.
Davis went to the mound, touched Pineda’s neck and ejected him.
Earlier this month, Pineda pitched well against the Red Sox at Yankee Stadium. Television cameras showed a substance on his hand during that outing — Pineda said it was dirt, not pine tar.
Pineda said he didn’t use pine tar in a start against the Chicago Cubs, in between his Red Sox outings.
YANKEES 14, RED SOX 5
BOSTON — Yangervis Solarte drove in four runs, Mark Teixeira hit his first homer of the season and New York capitalized on five Boston errors.
CC Sabathia (3-2) struck out eight while allowing two runs on three hits in six innings for the Yankees.
TIGERS 7, WHITE SOX 4
DETROIT — Miguel Cabrera drove in three runs, Max Scherzer struck out 10 and Detroit beat Chicago.
Cabrera hit a pair of two-out singles for his RBIs. Rajai Davis homered, doubled, singled and drove in two runs.
Scherzer (2-1) allowed two runs in six innings.
TWINS 9, RAYS 7
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Aaron Hicks hit a three-run homer, Kurt Suzuki drove in three runs and Minnesota beat Tampa Bay.
Former Rays outfielder Sam Fuld hit a pair of RBI doubles for the Twins, who won two of three for their first road series win against the Rays since Sept. 4-6, 2006. Minnesota manager Ron Gardenhire moved past Chuck Dressen into sole possession of 59th place on the career victory list with 1,009.
INDIANS 5, ROYALS 1
CLEVELAND — Corey Kluber struck out a career-high 11 and pitched a four-hitter for his first complete game, and David Murphy and Asdrubal Cabrera drove in two runs apiece, leading Cleveland over Kansas City.
Kluber (2-2) didn’t walk a batter and let Cleveland manager Terry Francona give some needed rest to his bullpen.
ORIOLES 11, BLUE JAYS 4
TORONTO — Chris Davis had two hits and three RBIs, Jonathan Schoop homered and Baltimore beat Toronto.
Nelson Cruz had two hits and drove in two runs for the Orioles, extending his streak of games with at least one RBI to seven.
ATHLETICS 10, ASTROS 1
HOUSTON — Josh Donaldson hit a pair of two-run homers to help Oakland cruise over Houston.
It was the first career multihomer game for Donaldson, who connected in the first inning and pushed the lead to 10-1 with a second shot in the seventh. Alberto Callaspo added a two-run homer in the third and Jed Lowrie had three hits for the A’s, who improved to 24-5 against Houston.
REDS 2, PIRATES 1
PITTSBURGH — Ryan Ludwick lined a two-run double after two Cincinnati batters were hit by pitches, lifting the Reds over Pittsburgh.
The Reds won for the seventh time in nine games and reached .500 at 11-11.
The Pirates have lost six of seven, scoring a total of 22 runs in that span.
METS 4, CARDINALS 1
NEW YORK — Chris Young homered to start New York’s comeback and slumping Curtis Granderson singled in a run as a pinch hitter as Bartolo Colon and the Mets beat the Cardinals to send Lance Lynn to his first career loss in April.
Colon (2-3) allowed four hits in seven innings, struck out eight and walked none. Daisuke Matsuzaka finished the four-hitter with a perfect ninth for his first save since 2000 with the Seibu Lions of Japan’s Pacific League.
DIAMONDBACKS 5, CUBS 2
CHICAGO — Mike Bolsinger earned his first major league win, pitching into the seventh inning and hitting an RBI single as Arizona beat Chicago.
Bolsinger (1-1) allowed one unearned run and four hits in 6 2/3 innings. He struck out seven and walked two.
Miguel Montero drove in two runs, and the Diamondbacks won consecutive games for only the second time this season.
PADRES 4, NATIONALS 3, 12 INNINGS
WASHINGTON — Former Nationals outfielder Xavier Nady’s tiebreaking RBI single off Craig Stammen in the top of the 12th inning, right after an error let the runner get to third base, gave San Diego a victory over Washington.
Nady, who entered the game in the ninth, hit a 2-0 fastball up the middle off Stammen (0-1), who was working his third inning.
Jedd Gyorko had singled off Stammen, then stole second and got to third when catcher Jose Lobaton’s throw sailed into the outfield.
PHILLIES 7, DODGERS 3
LOS ANGELES — Carlos Ruiz hit a tiebreaking two-run double off Brian Wilson in the ninth inning, Marlon Byrd drove in four runs and Philadelphia beat Los Angeles.
Adrian Gonzalez — whose fielding error in the fifth led to two runs — had tied the game 3-all in the seventh before Philadelphia scored four in the ninth.
By wire sources
