Ramirez

NEW YORK -- Pittsburgh Pirates third baseman Aramis Ramirez was suspended for seven games and fined by Major League Baseball on Tuesday for charging the mound and throwing his batting helmet at Milwaukee pitcher Ben Sheets.

Ramirez sprained his right ankle in that game against the Brewers on April 17, and he hasn't played since.

Because Ramirez is injured, he won't appeal the suspension and will begin serving it immediately. He'll be eligible to return May 1 against Colorado.

Ramirez is batting .348 with no home runs and five RBI.

This is the second time Ramirez has been suspended for charging the mound and throwing his helmet at a pitcher. When he was a 19-year-old rookie in 1998, Ramirez confronted Javier Vazquez in Montreal. He had been in the majors less than two months at the time.

In the Brewers-Pirates game last week, Milwaukee's Geoff Jenkins objected to being hit on an 0-2 pitch by Pittsburgh's Dave Williams. An inning later, Ramirez was hit by Sheets and ran at the pitcher. Ramirez threw his helmet, Sheets threw his glove, and both were ejected after players from both teams rushed on the field.

Sheets was fined for intentionally throwing at and hitting Ramirez and for throwing equipment.

Major League Baseball has come down harshly in recent seasons on players who leave the batters' box to charge the mound. Last season, Kansas City first baseman Mike Sweeney was suspended 10 games after starting a brawl against Detroit by charging the mound.

"Rammie understands the ramifications of what happened, the impact it has on this team," Pirates Manager Lloyd McClendon said last week.

"As emotional as he was, he understands he can't do those type of things. Hopefully, next time, cooler heads will prevail. It's all part of the growing pains."