Dusty Baker Wants Bryan Abreu Suspension Postponed, Houston Astros Reliever Bryan Abreu Back for ALCS Game 7 vs. Texas Rangers

Houston Astros manager Dusty Baker said the uncertain suspension status impacted how reliever Bryan Abreu was used in Game 6 against the Texas Rangers.

Houston Astros manager Dusty Baker has made plenty of headlines in the American League Championship Series from open roofs to delays leaving the field to possibly coaching after being ejected.

Now he’s concerned about not knowing the status of reliever Bryan Abreu for Game 7 on Monday night at Minute Maid Park. The veteran skipper wants the flame-throwing right-hander back in the bullpen.

Abreu was suspended for two games by MLB after hitting Texas Rangers slugger Adolis García in the eighth inning of Game 5. The plunking led to the benches clearing, plus the ejections of Abreu, Baker and García.

Astros manager Dusty Baker may not have reliever Bryan Abreu for Monday's Game 7 of the ALCS / © Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports

The latter two just received fines after the incident was reviewed by the league office. Abreu, however, received a two-game ban that could have started in Game 6. Instead, Abreu appealed and pitched an inning in the 9-2 Rangers’ win that evened that best-of-seven series at 3-3 going into Monday night’s Game 7.

“You wish you had a decision,” Baker said Sunday night. “You wish you had some final decision about his status. So we took a shot there. Hopefully some of this will be postponed and we’ll have him [Monday], as well.”

The league office is expected to hear the appeal on Monday and decide before the deciding game. Unless the ruling is to wipe out the suspension altogether, the Astros will be without one of their key relievers with the season on the line.

“That could be a huge blow,” Baker said. “I thought about using him two innings [Sunday], had the decision been made. But you’d hate to have the fine and the suspension go past [Monday] and then I wouldn’t have had Abreu [Monday] had he gone two innings.”

There is no indication that the appeal will be postponed, making it unlikely the Astros have one of their premier bullpen arms playing for a return trip to the World Series.

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