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Padres Pitcher Receives Updated Punishment After Hitting Shohei Ohtani

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Gavin M. Groe | Last updated Jun 25, 2025 3:38 PM ET

San Diego Padres closer, Robert Suarez, is currently playing in his age-34 season following an All-Star appearance in 2024. Suarez has appeared in four major league seasons for San Diego since making his debut in 2022. Before his MLB breakthrough, he spent several seasons in Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball league.

He’s been a crucial piece in the heated rivalry between the Los Angeles Dodgers and Padres in the NL West—and found himself at the center of the latest skirmish last Thursday in San Diego’s 5–3 win.

In the top half of the ninth inning, Dodgers reliever Jack Little plunked Fernando Tatis Jr., sparking benches to clear and earning Dodgers manager Dave Roberts and Padres manager Mike Shildt ejections. When play resumed in the bottom half of the ninth, Suarez retaliated by drilling Shohei Ohtani with a 100 mile-per-hour fastball, resulting in his ejection.

MLB handed Suarez a three-game suspension for his actions, but he promptly appealed.

Today, the league confirmed his punishment has been reduced to two games, which he will begin serving immediately.

Confirmed:

Robert Suarez suspension reduced to two games.

He’ll begin serving today, https://t.co/Yf9WnwU0wJ
— Jeff Sanders (@sdutSanders) June 25, 2025

As a result, he’ll miss the series finale against the Washington Nationals and the opening game against the Cincinnati Reds on Friday.

Suarez pitched a scoreless inning yesterday against Washington to earn his 22nd save in a 4–3 victory. He’s pitched decently this season, posting a 3.51 ERA in 33.1 innings with 22 saves and allowing just one home run, building on his career-best campaign in 2024. As San Diego leans on its bullpen down the stretch, the brief suspension figures to be nothing more than a bump in the road for their veteran closer.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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