Toronto CF Kevin Pillar suspended 2 games for anti-gay slur

ATLANTA (AP) — Toronto Blue Jays center fielder Kevin Pillar was suspended two games today for yelling an anti-gay slur at a Braves pitcher.

The Blue Jays suspended Pillar without pay shortly after he apologized in a statement, saying he was "completely and utterly embarrassed" by the word he directed at Jason Motte.

Pillar was angry at Motte for allegedly quick-pitching him to get a strikeout that ended the seventh inning in Atlanta's 8-4 victory Wednesday night .

Replays appeared to show Pillar using the slur as he shouted toward the mound. After what he described as a sleepless night, the player acknowledged his wrongdoing.

"I regret saying it," Pillar told reporters at SunTrust Park a few hours before the finale of a four-game series against the Braves. "I'm going to use myself as an example of how there are words out there you can't use. It's not a word I use ever. ... It's something that just came out."

Toronto general manager Ross Atkins flew to Atlanta to apologize on behalf of the organization and announce the suspension, which he said was deemed appropriate by Major League Baseball and Commissioner Rob Manfred.

Pillar will miss tonight's game against the Braves, as well as Friday's game at Baltimore. He will forfeit about $6,066 of his $550,000 salary, with the money donated to charity.