Manny Machado ejected after he intentionally tosses his bat

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Orioles third baseman Manny Machado caused a benches-clearing incident on Friday after he was unhappy with a tag from Athletics third baseman Josh Donaldson and he was in the middle of some more drama this afternoon.

Machado was ejected from today’s game against the Athletics in the bottom of the eighth inning after he appeared to intentionally toss his bat on a swing. A’s left-hander Fernando Abad brushed him back on the previous pitch, possibly in retaliation for Machado hitting catcher Derek Norris in the head with his backswing and knocking him out of the game in his last at-bat. As you’ll see below, the 21-year-old chose a dangerous way to respond to Abad’s pitch:

[mlbvideo id=”33552351″ width=”400″ height=”224″ /]

Machado and Abad were both ejected from the game. Abad shouldn’t be excused for throwing at someone intentionally, but Machado could have really hurt someone, whether it be a player, an umpire, a third base coach, or even a fan. It’s reckless behavior and there’s simply no place for it. He should be embarrassed with his behavior. Here’s hoping MLB sends him a significant message.

For Machado’s part, he says his actions weren’t intentional:

Cardinals sign pitcher Miles Mikolas to 3-year, $55.75M deal

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Rhona Wise/USA TODAY Sports
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ST. LOUIS — Miles Mikolas is sticking with the St. Louis Cardinals.

The right-hander signed a three-year, $55.75 million contract on Friday that will carry through the 2025 season.

The new deal replaces a $68 million, four-year contract signed in February 2019 that covered the 2020-23 seasons and was set to pay $15.75 million this year.

Mikolas will receive a $5 million signing bonus payable July 1 and will make $18.75 million in 2023 and $16 million in each of the following two seasons. Mikolas can earn a $250,000 bonus for winning a Cy Young Award, $50,000 for All-Star election or selection or winning a Gold Glove, $100,000 for League Championship Series MVP and $150,000 for World Series MVP.

Mikolas is scheduled to make the second opening-day start of his big league career next Thursday when the Cardinals host Toronto. Mikolas went 12-13 with a 3.29 ERA last season while helping St. Louis to the NL Central title.

“Miles stands among the top pitchers in the game today, and has continued to provide a steady presence for us both in the rotation and inside the clubhouse,” St. Louis general manager John Mozeliak said in a statement.

Mikolas is 45-40 with a 3.79 in 143 games with San Diego, Texas and St. Louis. He recently pitched six shutout innings in two appearances for the U.S. in the World Baseball Classic.