OAKLAND, CALIF. ? Boston pitcher Frank Castillo was suspended for five games for hitting a batter and teammate Trot Nixon was suspended for four for throwing his bat during a game against Tampa Bay on Sunday.

Both also were fined Tuesday by Bob Watson, baseball’s vice president in charge of discipline, as was Devil Rays pitcher Ryan Rupe.

Watson said Rupe intentionally hit Nomar Garciaparra and Shea Hillenbrand with pitches.

The Major League Baseball Players Assn. appealed, meaning the suspensions cannot start until after a hearing before Bob DuPuy, baseball’s chief operating officer.

“I’m a little bit upset, but there’s not a whole lot we can do,” Red Sox manager Grady Little said. “We’ll go through the process of appeal. Until then, there’s not a whole lot we can say.

Rupe and Devil Rays manager Hal McRae said they were surprised by the penalties, especially considering there were no ejections or verbal confrontations between the teams.

“It is unusual, but that’s the decision,” McRae said. “We weren’t upset about anything. There was no screaming or hollering from either side of the field.” McRae said.

Rupe denied that he intentionally threw at Garciaparra or Hillenbrand, who had hit a pinch-hit grand slam home run to win the previous night’s game.

“My intentions were not to hurt anyone or hit anyone,” Rupe said.