Yankee Pineda handed 10-game ban

New York: New York Yankees pitcher Michael Pineda was slapped with a 10-game suspension Thursday, a day after being ejected from a game against the Boston Red Sox for using pine tar.

The ban will likely mean that Pineda will miss two Major League Baseball starts. Pineda, who admitted to putting the tar on his neck so he could discretely transfer it to his glove for better grip, accepted the suspension, which will begin Thursday, when the Yankees and Red Sox continue their series in Boston. "I accept it because I know I made a mistake," Pineda, 25, said. "That`s it." Pineda is 2-2 with a 1.83 run average in four starts for the Yankees this season. Two years ago, Tampa Bay`s Joel Peralta was suspended for eight games after he was found to have pine tar in his glove. With two outs and Grady Sizemore batting in the bottom of the second, Red Sox manager John Farrell complained to home plate umpire Gerry Davis about a substance on Pineda. Davis touched a brownish substance on the right side of the pitcher`s neck and immediately ejected him from the contest, which was won by the Red Sox 5-1. "You could see it. I could see it from the dugout. It was confirmed by a number of camera angles in the ballpark," said Farrell. Pineda was also embroiled in controversy when he faced the Red Sox at Yankee Stadium earlier this month, as television cameras showed the right-hander with a brown substance on his right palm. No protests were made by Farrell during that contest, in which Pineda held Boston to one run over six innings. The Yankees won 4-1. Explaining the use of the tar, Pineda said: "I tried to put it on my neck, just a little bit. I made a mistake again and put too much and everybody sees it. It is my mistake. I feel so sad and I feel bad for that."