On Thursday, MLB played only eleven games, as opposed to the usual 15.  Still, there was a unusually high number of batters hit by a pitch.  In fact, there were only 2 games were a player wasn’t hit: Game 1 of the double header between Minnesota and Cleveland, and Oakland at Chicago.

Here’s the list of the players who were hit, which includes some of the biggest stars of the game:

MIN @ CLE (Game 2)- Brian Dozier (by TJ House in the Top of the 6th)

STL @ CIN- Jon Jay (by Johnny Cueto in the Top of the 1st)

ARI @ SF- Cliff Pennington (by Javier Lopez in the Top of the 8th)

PIT @ PHI- Starling Marte (by AJ Burnett in the Top of the 2nd)

TB @ NYY- Derek Jeter (by Brad Boxberger in the Bottom of the 8th), Chase Headley (by Jake McGee in the Bottom of the 9th)

WSH @ NYM- Ian Desmond (by Bartolo Colon in the Top of the 2nd), Jayson Werth (by Bartolo Colon in the Top of the 4th), Daniel Murphy (by Matt Thornton in the Bottom of the 8th)

LAA @ TEX- Mike Trout (by Nick Martinez in the Top of the 3rd), Mike Trout (by Nick Martinez in the Top of the 5th), Tomas Telias (by Joe Smith in the Bottom of the 9th)

BOS @ KC- Yoenis Cespedes (by Liam Hendriks in the Top of the 3rd), Josh Willingham (by Clay Buchholz in the Bottom of the 6th)

MIA @ MIL- Giancarlo Stanton (by Mike Fiers in the Top of the 5th), Reed Johnson (by Mike Fiers in the Top of the 5th), Carlos Gomez (by Anthony DeSclafani in the Bottom of the 6th)

Even though Mike Fiers hit Stanton, and then hit the pinch hitter who replaced him, I don’t think it was intentional.  Fiers went on Twitter to apologize.

However, it seems like Bartolo Colon’s pitches that hit the Nationals may have been intentional.  They each came after a Nationals player hit a home run.  In the second inning, Colon hit Ian Desmond after Adam LaRoche’s monster home run.  In the fourth, he hit Jayson Werth after Anthony Rendon hit a 2-run reviewed home run.  Colon was thrown out of the game, and so was manager Terry Collins.  As I said last year, intentionally hitting batters is completely unacceptable.  The severe injuries that Stanton suffered, which will end his season, show just how dangerous it can be to intentionally hit a batter with a fastball.  If Colon beaned Werth and Desmond on purpose, t was very bad sportsmanship, especially in the game that was part of the patriotic series to commemorate 9/11.

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