Five Suspended for Expo-Astro Brawl

The National League suspended and fined five players Wednesday for their involvement in Monday night’s heated bench-clearing brawl between the Montreal Expos and Houston Astros.

Houston pitcher Danny Darwin, who hit Henry Rodriguez with a pitch to set off the ugly third-inning scuffle, was suspended for six games and fined $1,000.

Rodriguez, Jeff Juden and Moises Alou of the Expos and Houston’s John Cangelosi were also fined $1,000 and received four-game suspensions.

The Expos’ David Segui, on the disabled list because of a broken thumb, was fined $1,000 for joining the altercation but was not suspended.

The players’ union said it would wait until today before deciding whether to appeal the suspensions, which would take effect Friday. The suspensions, however, are staggered so neither team will lose more than one player at a time.

For Montreal, Rodriguez begins his ban Friday, Alou starts Tuesday and Juden on Aug. 24. Houston’s Darwin starts Friday and Cangelosi on Aug. 22.

Six players were ejected after the brawl along with Houston Manager Terry Collins, who needed four stitches to close a gash above his lip, suffered when Alou threw a batting helmet from close range.

“I think you always have to appeal to see if you can get the suspension reduced. I got four games,” Rodriguez said. “Maybe that’s too much, I don’t know.”

“I’ll talk to my agent and [General Manager] Jim Beattie and we’ll see if there’s an appeal,” Alou said. “I didn’t know how many games I’d get. It’s the first time I’ve been suspended. There was a brawl. I was in it. We’ll see.”

*

The Atlanta Braves traded outfielder Mark Whiten to the Seattle Mariners for a minor-league pitcher and recalled heralded 19-year-old outfielder Andruw Jones from Triple-A Richmond.

Whiten, whose three-run homer Tuesday night led the Braves to a 4-1 victory over Philadelphia in the nightcap of a doubleheader sweep, was signed as a free agent June 24 after being put on waivers by the Phillies. He batted .256 with three homers and 17 RBIs in 36 games with Atlanta. The Mariners will be his seventh team in seven seasons.

In return, the Braves get Seattle right-hander Roger Blanco, 19. He was 1-7 with a 6.16 earned-run average in 11 starts at Class-A Everett of the Northwest League.

Jones batted a combined .339 with 34 home runs, 92 RBIs and 30 stolen bases in 116 games at his three minor league stops this year.

*

Minnesota second baseman Chuck Knoblauch, who will be a free agent after this season if players are granted service time for the strike, rejected a four-year, $22-million contract offer from the Twins, the Star Tribune reported.

The Twins also put Knoblauch on revocable waivers, withdrawing his name after he was claimed by the New York Yankees, the newspaper reported.

*

The game is finally over for opponents of a new Tiger Stadium in Detroit.

The Michigan Supreme Court, in an opinion released Wednesday, let stand two lower court rulings rejecting the Tiger Stadium Fan Club’s lawsuit. The group, which supports preserving and renovating the current 84-year-old stadium, had sued to block the new ballpark.

The Supreme Court’s decision means the $240-million project can go forward.

Ground will not be broken on the new stadium for about six months, while the Tigers secure the rest of the financing, the city acquires land near Detroit’s Foxtown and planners complete the stadium designs, Tiger President John McHale said. But the park now is on track to be completed by the 1999 season opener.

*

St. Louis Cardinal pitcher Todd Stottlemyre, who lasted a season-low 2 1/3 innings Tuesday night against the Dodgers, might have to skip a start because of back pain.

“I’m wondering whether I should pitch him Sunday,” Manager Tony La Russa said. “We need our rotation healthy and fresh going into the last six weeks of the season.

“His back pain is driving him nuts and if he’s not ready, somebody else needs to go.”