Keone Kela began serving his suspension Saturday night when the Pirates faced the Mets at PNC Park.
Kela was suspended for 10 games by Major League Baseball on Thursday for his part in Tuesday night’s fight with the Reds in a game at Cincinnati. He originally appealed the suspension then decided to drop the appeal about 20 minutes before the start of Saturday’s game.
The move will leave with the Pirates with just 24 players over their next 10 games. Kela will miss the final two games of the three-game series with the Mets as well as three-game series against the Brewers and Cardinals next week, then the first two games of a three-game series against the Angels on Aug. 12-13.
Kela admitted to throwing a pitch near the head of the Reds’ Derek Dietrich on Tuesday. That eventually led to the benches clearing two innings later.
On Friday, Kela said he thought the penalty was excessive.
"Me being honest, I guess the truth will get you crucified," Kela said. "At the end of the day, I'm not going to sit here and bald-faced lie. The game sees enough of that."
Jose Osuna was suspended for five games while Kyle Crick received a three-game ban and Clint Hurdle got a two-game suspension. Osuna and Crick have both appealed and their suspensions will likely be held in abeyance until Kela’s ends.
Hurdle began his suspension Friday and will be back in the dugout Sunday.
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