LOS ANGELES - The loquacious Shane Victorino finally met a subject he had nothing to say about.
On Monday, Victorino was suspended three games and fined by Major League Baseball for his actions in Friday's fracas between the Phillies and Giants. He was the only player suspended, even though both benches cleared.
No Giants were suspended, but Ramon Ramirez and Eli Whiteside were both fined an undisclosed amount. Phillies third baseman Placido Polanco was also fined.
A peeved Victorino declined to comment. He will appeal the suspension, which was slated to begin Monday, with the hopes of lowering the penalty.
Charlie Manuel said he was not surprised to see Victorino suspended but wondered if there could have been more reprimands issued.
"They were the ones who provoked it," Manuel said. "I felt like Vic did what he had to do. He probably felt like he had to stand up for himself. It's good that it was just one guy. Usually when you get into things like, somebody gets suspended. It hurts your team."
In announcing the penalties, the commissioner's office said, "Victorino's aggressive actions prolonged the bench-clearing incident between the clubs."
Victorino was hit in the back by a Ramirez fastball during the sixth inning of Friday's 9-2 Phillies win. The Phillies led by six runs at the time of the plunking and Ramirez was charged with three runs. After being hit, Victorino took a few steps toward the mound until Whiteside ran in front of him and started hopping. The catcher then grabbed Polanco, who ran in, and the melee started.
Victorino was restrained twice by home-plate umpire Mike Muchlinski and hitting coach Greg Gross. He pushed both aside and charged into the pile, where he drilled Giants hitting coach Hensley Meulens.
Phillies general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. declined to speak in detail about the decision.
"I know he's appealing it," Amaro said. "I don't have any comment about whether it's fair or not. We'll see what they say."
As for no Giants being suspended, Amaro was indifferent.
"It's the decision they made," Amaro said. "I'm worried about my player, not the Giants players."
Contact staff writer Matt Gelb at mgelb@phillynews.com or @magelb on Twitter.
