Hunter Strickland suspended 6 games, Bryce Harper 4

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Giants reliever Hunter Strickland received a six-game suspension Tuesday and Washington's Bryce Harper was penalized four games for their roles in a benches-clearing brawl at AT&T Park a day earlier.

Major League Baseball said both players planned to appeal, so they were eligible to play in Tuesday night's game between the clubs.

Baseball Senior Vice President Joe Garagiola Jr. typically hears player appeals.

Strickland hit Harper in the hip with a pitch in the eighth inning and the Washington slugger charged the mound, wildly firing his helmet before trading punches to the head with Strickland during the Nationals' 3-0 win Monday at San Francisco.

MLB Chief Baseball Officer Joe Torre's explanation of the disciplinary decisions said Strickland intentionally hit "Harper with a pitch, inciting the bench-clearing incident and fighting" while Harper's suspension came "for charging the mound, throwing his helmet and fighting."

The bad blood stems from a pair of home runs Harper hit off Strickland in the 2014 playoffs, when the Giants went on to capture their third World Series championship in five years.