Ubaldo Jimenez appeals suspension

GOODYEAR, Ariz., April 3 (UPI) -- Cleveland Indians pitcher Ubaldo Jimenez is filing an appeal of a five-game suspension, Indians Manager Manny Acta said Tuesday.

The 28-year-old Dominican hurler was slapped with a suspension and fine stemming from a Sunday incident during a spring training game in Arizona. Benches cleared after Jimenez struck former teammate Troy Tulowitzki of the Colorado Rockies on the left elbow with a pitch.

Tulowitzki yelled at the one-time Rockies all-star while the pitcher threw his glove to ground and ran toward the batter's box.

The incident delayed the game and later prompted Rockies Manager Jim Tracy to call the Jimenez pitch a "gutless act," The Denver Post reported.

Jimenez protested he hadn't meant to hit Tulowitzki, but Major League Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig thought otherwise, hitting the right-hander with a five-game suspension and fining him an undisclosed amount.

The appeal will allow Jimenez to be available for his first start of the season Saturday against Toronto.