Joe Girardi says Ryan Dempster should be suspended for hitting A-Rod

There’s at least one person who will leap to the defense of Alex Rodriguez: Yankees Manager Joe Girardi.

Girardi on Tuesday was still upset that Boston pitcher Ryan Dempster hit Rodriguez with a pitch during Monday’s game, and called on Major League Baseball to suspend Dempster, because it will be “open season” on Rodriguez if the pitcher isn’t suspended.

“If he isn’t punished, it makes Rodriguez open season for people, and that can’t happen,” Girardi said Tuesday before the Yankees played a doubleheader against Toronto. “It’s not fair. If a player is suspended for throwing at someone, they’re going to get their appeal. Are we just going to throw that out, too?

“That baseball is a weapon. It’s not a tennis ball. It’s a weapon, and it can do a lot of damage to someone’s life. And that’s why I was so upset about it. You can express your opinion and be upset with someone, but you just can’t start throwing baseballs at people. I mean, it’s scary.”

Dempster threw one pitch behind Rodriguez and two more inside in the second inning at Fenway Park on Sunday. Then his 3-and-0 pitch struck Rodriguez’s left elbow pad and ricocheted off his back. Dempster said he was just pitching inside but wasn’t trying to hit Rodriguez.

Girardi sprinted onto the field, screaming at plate umpire Brian O’Nora for not ejecting the pitcher. Girardi was tossed as the benches and bullpens emptied, and Rodriguez homered off Dempster to spark a sixth-inning rally that lifted New York to a 9-6 win.

MLB is expected to decide Tuesday or Wednesday on any discipline.

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