Major League Baseball has suspended Ryan Dempster for five games and fined him for intentionally hitting Alex Rodriguez on Sunday night.

Dempster threw one pitch behind A-Rod's knees on Sunday night and two more inside at Fenway Park. His fourth pitch struck Rodriguez's left elbow pad and ricocheted off his back.

Joe Girardi said Dempster needed to be suspended or it would be "open season" on Rodriguez.

"You just can't throw at someone because you don't like him or disagree with the way something's being handled," Girardi said. "If a player is suspended for throwing at someone, they're going to get their appeal. Are we going to throw that out, too? So, I mean, this is what's been negotiated."