Wilson Contreras has been suspended for six games by MLB due to a heated confrontation with an umpire.

MLB officially announced today that St. Louis Cardinals first baseman Wilson Contreras was suspended for six games and fined an undisclosed amount after a fierce confrontation with home plate umpire Derek Thomas in yesterday’s match against the Pittsburgh Pirates. Although the Cardinals ultimately won 7-6, Contreras was ejected during the game and subsequently engaged in aggressive behavior including touching the umpire, angrily throwing his helmet, tossing his bat, and throwing a bucket of chewing gum onto the field.

Contreras, who has appealed the suspension, went hitless in three at-bats with one RBI and one run scored in today’s second game, which the Cardinals lost 3-8 to the Pirates. The suspension will be on hold until the appeal process is completed. Michael Hill, MLB’s Senior Vice President of On-Field Operations, announced the disciplinary decision.

This season, Contreras leads the Cardinals with 19 home runs, while also posting a .261 batting average, 30 doubles, and 72 RBIs. As of Tuesday, the Cardinals trail the fifth-place team in the National League Wild Card race by 5.5 games and are three games behind the Cincinnati Reds, their upcoming opponent in a crucial three-game series.

At 33 years old, Contreras is earning $18 million in the 2025 season (approximately 116 million RMB), marking the third year of his five-year, $87.5 million contract signed before the 2023 season.

The incident occurred in the seventh inning of yesterday’s game when Contreras was called out on strikes. Although he did not dispute the call, he admitted telling the umpire on his way back to the dugout, “Please apply the same standards for both sides; your calls against us were incorrect.” A derogatory remark from the Cardinals’ dugout captured by the Pirates’ broadcast triggered his ejection. Contreras insists he was ejected for words he never said.

“I’m still confused because there was no reason to eject me,” Contreras said after the game. “I didn’t challenge any strike calls; the only thing I said was to ask for consistent standards. He clearly misheard something and ejected me because of it.” After being ejected, Contreras made contact with the umpire despite Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol’s attempt to restrain him. He then angrily threw his helmet and bat, striking hitting coach Brant Brown’s arm, and ultimately threw his shin guard and a bucket of chewing gum onto the field during bench coach Daniel Descalso’s efforts to intervene.

“I walked back to the dugout knowing I was struck out on a called third strike, so I didn’t dispute any calls,” Contreras explained. “Being ejected in a game that was only one run difference was shocking and definitely not what I wanted.”

This marks the first time a Cardinals player has been ejected this season and is Contreras’ ninth career ejection. Manager Oliver Marmol was also ejected later, marking his sixth ejection this season (the most in the league) and the 21st in his four-year managerial career.