Mets' relief Yohan Ramirez, manager Carlos Mendoza both suspended

Yohan Ramirez, relief pitcher for the New York Mets, and the team's manager Carlos Mendoza have been suspended for three and one games, respectively, the Major League Baseball (MLB) announced on Sunday.

In the Mets' 7-6 loss to the Milwaukee Brewers at Citi Field in New York City on March 30, Ramirez threw the ball at Brewers' designated hitter Rhys Hoskins from behind during the seventh inning. Ramirez was ejected for the act, and the major league ruled it a move with malicious intention.

"I was trying to throw my sinker inside," Ramirez defended his move. "And sometimes when I try to get it too inside, the ball just runs. In this weather, I didn't have the grip that I want."

Both Mendoza and his Brewers counterpart Pat Murphy agreed with Ramirez, but Hoskins disagreed.

"Big-leaguers don't miss by eight feet," he said. "Whether it was on purpose or not is really not for me to decide. But this game has had a way of policing itself for many, many years. So let's focus on doing it the right way if we're going to do that."

Hoskins scored two runs and four runs batted in (RBIs) with three hits, including one homer, against the Mets on March 30. The home crowd booed him every time he came to bat. The bad blood came from his hard slide into second base and Jeff McNeil the day before. The incident nearly caused a huge argument that involved several players. The Brewers ended the March 29 match with a 3-1 win over the Mets, which did nothing to appease the fans the next day.

"I'm a competitor, no doubt about it – people boo you, people doubt you, people do whatever they do; it's always nice to prove people wrong," Hoskins said. "So yeah, I'm ecstatic about what I was able to do to help us win a game today. We won a series on the road to start the year in a place that's not easy to do so. Stoked about that."

The Brewers beat the Mets 4-1 on Sunday, securing three straight wins at Citi Field.