Houston Astros pitcher Bryan Abreu will be suspended for two games after all, but the punishment isn’t going to hurt his team’s championship chances this year.

Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reported Major League Baseball announced the two-game suspension it gave Abreu for throwing at Adolis García of the Texas Rangers during Game 5 of the American League Championship Series was upheld.

However, the punishment will be served during the first two games of the 2024 campaign instead of during the postseason.

Abreu hit García with a pitch just two innings after the Rangers slugger launched a three-run homer and celebrated by slamming his bat down onto the turf. García quickly turned toward Astros catcher Martín Maldonado after he was hit, which prompted a dugout-emptying incident that delayed the game.

The Associated Press noted MLB said all six umpires working the game believed Abreu hit García on purpose. The league also said it “took into account the dangerous nature of the pitch and its potential impact on player safety.”

Abreu wasn’t the only one punished, as Astros pitcher Lance McCullers Jr., Rangers pitcher Matt Bush and Houston manager Dusty Baker were all fined. McCullers and Bush are also not allowed to sit on their team benches for the remainder of the ALCS.

Houston decided to pitch Abreu in Game 6 on Sunday with an opportunity to close out the series and clinch a spot in the Fall Classic since he had appealed the suspension.

Yet it was García and the Rangers who got the last laugh in Game 6.

Despite raucous boos from the Houston crowd, some of which were holding signs calling to free Abreu, the two-time All-Star blasted a grand slam in the ninth inning to push a 5-2 advantage to a commanding 9-2 lead.

While the grand slam didn’t come against Abreu, it was quite the message for Texas going into the decisive Game 7 on Monday.