MLB: Yankees’ CC Sabathia banned five games for hitting batter, appeals

New York Yankees pitcher CC Sabathia was suspended five games Saturday for hitting a Tampa Bay batter, a penalty that won’t take effect until next year.

Sabathia appealed the ban that was issued by Major League Baseball. Any games he misses will come at the start of the 2019 season.

The Yankees will host Oakland in the AL wild-card game on Wednesday.

Sabathia was penalized for hitting Rays catcher Jesus Sucre in the leg leading off the bottom of the sixth inning at Tropicana Field on Thursday. The 38-year-old lefty was ejected, and the benches cleared.

“It is what it is,” Sabathia said after the Yankees’ 8-5 win at Boston. “Everybody saw what happened.”

Sabathia was cruising with a big lead when he got tossed. He needed two more innings to trigger a $500,000 bonus for pitching 155 innings this season.

In the fifth, Sabathia hit Jake Bauers in the wrist with a pitch. In the top of the sixth, Rays pitcher Andrew Kittredge threw up-and-in to Yankees catcher Austin Romine.

Kittredge was suspended three games and fined. Sabathia also was fined an undisclosed amount.

Asked if it bothered him that Kittredge’s penalty was shorter, Sabathia said, “Yeah, kind of.”

“Whatever, it is what it is. It’s behind us. It’s over. We’ll just move on,” he said.

Kittredge said it was likely he would appeal after talking it over with his agent. The regular season ends Sunday.

“Figured this would be a possibility. I’m a little disappointed, obviously. I guess I’m not overly surprised,” he said.

Torres hits Yankees’ 265th homer, breaking record vs. Red Sox

Gleyber Torres homered in the fourth inning for the New York Yankees, claiming a Major League Baseball record with their 265th home run of the season.

Torres’ drive to right off Boston’s Eduardo Rodriguez moved New York past the 1997 Seattle Mariners for the most in a single season in MLB history. It was Torres’ 24th home run of the season, which sailed over the head of Blake Swihart at the bullpen wall to put the Yankees up 4-1 against the Red Sox.

New York tied the record Friday night with four homers in an 11-6 win over the Red Sox.

The Mariners set the mark with a lineup that included Ken Griffey Jr., Alex Rodriguez, Jay Buhner and Edgar Martinez.

Cool intersection: Tony Gwynn Drive & Trevor Hoffman Way

The street corner outside Petco Park’s main entrance is now the intersection of Tony Gwynn Drive and Trevor Hoffman Way.

Hoffman, the former closer who was inducted into the Hall of Fame on July 29, helped unveil a street sign bearing his name on Friday afternoon.

Mayor Kevin Faulconer, who helped with the unveiling, called it “the coolest intersection in San Diego, no doubt about it.”

The address of Petco Park, which opened in 2004, is 19 Tony Gwynn Drive.

On Aug. 18, the Padres unveiled a statue of Hoffman in the Park at the Park beyond center field, just as they unveiled a statue of Gwynn during his Hall of Fame summer of 2007.

Hoffman is a special adviser in the Padres’ baseball operations department.