NEW YORK (AP) – Yankees center fielder Melky Cabrera and first baseman Shelley Duncan were suspended for three games each for their roles in Wednesday’s spring-training fracas between New York and the Tampa Bay Rays.

Tampa outfielder Jonny Gomes was suspended for two games Friday. All three players were fined along with Yankees manager Joe Girardi, third-base coach Bobby Meacham and hitting coach Kevin Long.

The suspensions, unless appealed, will start at the beginning of the regular season.

Bob Watson, baseball’s vice president for discipline, cited Duncan for “violent and reckless actions, which incited the bench-clearing incident,” and penalized Cabrera for “violent and aggressive actions during the incident.”

Gomes was suspended for “violent actions, which escalated” the situation.

Benches cleared during the second inning of Wednesday’s game, four days after Girardi complained about Tampa Bay’s aggressive play after a collision at the plate that injured catcher Francisco Cervelli.

“I really haven’t had much time to really analyze it,” Duncan said after playing against Cincinnati in Sarasota, Fla. “Initially, I feel it is pretty unfair. After the incident with Cervelli, I was asked a question about I feel about it and how I was going to approach the next game.

“For some reason people assumed I made retaliatory remarks, which I never did. When asked how I was going to play the game, I told everyone that asked me, I was going to play the game hard. I was going to match their intensity, or even exceed it.”

Duncan said he isn’t sure if he will appeal the suspension.

Duncan slid into Rays second baseman Akinori Iwamura with spikes raised after hitting a hard grounder off third baseman Evan Longoria’s glove and trying to advance to second base on the play.

Duncan, thrown out by at least 10 feet, was immediately tossed. Gomes was ejected after racing in from right field and barreling into Duncan as other players poured onto the field. No punches appeared to have been thrown as order was restored.

Reds 7, Yankees 7

SARASOTA, Fla. – Alex Rodriguez hit his third home run of the spring in the first inning and the Yakees tied the Reds 7-7 in a game stopped because of rain in the 10th inning.

Corey Patterson doubled to lead off the game for the Reds, the first hit allowed this spring by Yankee starter Phil Hughes. Juan Castro singled him home for the first run scored off Hughes.

Hughes, the Yankees’ first pick in the 2004 draft, retired 18 of the 20 batters he faced in his six innings of work coming into the game. Hughes allowed four runs and nine hits in 2 2-3 innings Friday.

“I wasn’t behind every hitter,” Hughes said. “That was tough but it’s better to get it out of the way now than later. It’s one of those things I have to battle through.”

Hughes said he was overthrowing.

“He just didn’t have the command he’s had all spring and that’s going to happen,” New York manager Joe Girardi said.

Cincinnati starter Matt Belisle pitched three innings and allowed seven runs and eight hits. Reds manager Dusty Baker is counting on Belisle to follow up his 8-9 record from last season with a big year.

One of Belisle’s competitors for a rotation assignment, free agent Josh Fogg, pitched five scoreless innings against the Pittsburgh Pirates in the Reds’ other split-squad game Friday.

“Belisle struggled some,” Baker said. “He had the two-out blues. He would get the first two out, then couldn’t stop the bleeding.

“We’ll keep pitching them,” Baker said of Belisle and Fogg. “They’ll make our decision for us.”

The Reds rallied off Heath Phillips and Chris Britton in the seventh inning. Non-roster player Juan Francisco doubled off Britton and scored the tying run.

Patterson, signed as a free agent by the Reds on March 4, had three hits that included a bunt single.

Notes: LHP Andy Pettitte was scratched on Wednesday with a mild muscle strain on his outer left arm near his elbow. He threw 42 pitches in a bullpen session on Thursday. He expects to take his next turn on Monday. … OF Johnny Damon played in the field for the first time since Monday. … 1B Jason Giambi missed his third day with a lower back strain. … Cincinnati C David Ross, who had been out all spring with a strained lower back, took batting practice.

AP-ES-03-14-08 1959EDT