NEW YORK (AP) — Pittsburgh Pirates outfielder Tommy Pham served a one-game suspension Monday night against the New York Mets for conduct directed at Los Angeles Angels fans last month.
Pham was disciplined by Major League Baseball and fined an undisclosed amount on April 25 for “inappropriate actions toward” Angels fans during a game two days earlier. The penalty was upheld after his appeal went to a hearing, a Pirates spokesman said Monday.
The 37-year-old Pham reportedly made an obscene gesture to a fan who touched him while he was tracking down a ball in the left-field corner during a 3-0 win over the Angels.
The 12-year veteran is batting .176 with no homers, six RBIs and a .475 OPS in 34 games during his first season with the Pirates.
Pham, who played 79 games for the Mets in 2023, is a .331 career hitter with 10 home runs in 169 at-bats and 55 games at Citi Field.
In other news, Pirates center fielder Oneil Cruz sat out for the second consecutive game after leaving Saturday’s 11-inning loss to Atlanta with lower back tightness.
“He’s getting better. He’s day to day. We’ll see what his availability is tonight,” manager Don Kelly said before the game.
Alexander Canario, acquired from the Mets for cash on March 31, started in center again.
Pittsburgh also reinstated shortstop Isiah Kiner-Falefa from the 10-day injured list. He batted sixth and had an eventful evening during a 4-3 loss to the Mets.
His first time up, Kiner-Falefa led off the second inning with his first home run since Aug. 17. He had been sidelined since May 1 with a right hamstring strain.
“You guys see it every time he’s out there — the energy he brings, the defense, the contact ability, the way he can hit,” Kelly said prior to the game. “He can do a lot of different things. He’s a leader on the field for us, and it’s good to have him back out there at short.”
Kiner-Falefa started two double plays that helped Pirates ace Paul Skenes out of jams. But the shortstop also committed a costly error on Francisco Lindor’s grounder up the middle in the ninth, leading to the winning run against reliever David Bednar.
“If it doesn’t hit the base, I make that play easily,” Kiner-Falefa said. “I just felt bad because it cost Bednar the loss. So that was obviously tough for me. But it hit the base there. Nothing I could have done about it.”
The 30-year-old Kiner-Falefa began the night batting .280 with seven RBIs and a .663 OPS in 30 games this season.
In a corresponding move, infielder Liover Peguero was optioned to Triple-A Indianapolis following Sunday’s 4-3 win over the Braves.
Peguero went 2 for 9 in four games with Pittsburgh after being called up May 2 from Indianapolis.
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