Pirates' Santana appealing 4-game ban for incident with fan in Detroit

Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Dennis Santana has been suspended four games and fined an undisclosed amount for "aggressive conduct toward a fan" following an incident at Comerica Park on Thursday, Major League Baseball announced.

Santana has elected to appeal the discipline, meaning he will be available to pitch in Friday's home game against the Texas Rangers.

During the nightcap of Thursday's doubleheader against the Detroit Tigers, Santana was seen exchanging words with a fan seated above the Pirates' bullpen. The interaction eventually escalated to Santana jumping up and taking a swing at the spectator. He was then restrained and led away from the stands.

Santana told reporters postgame that the fan was making remarks toward him that "crossed the line a few times," although he did not specify what was said.

The 29-year-old later expressed regret for his actions to manager Don Kelly, according to Alex Stumpf of MLB.com.

Santana has emerged as a pillar of Pittsburgh's bullpen this season, sporting a 1.72 ERA and 0.83 WHIP with 25 strikeouts and five saves over 32 appearances this season.