BOSTON — Boston Red Sox first baseman Sean Casey today dropped his appeal of a three-game suspension for his role in a bench-clearing brawl with the Tampa Bay Rays.

Casey will begin serving his suspension immediately.

Outfielder Coco Crisp, meanwhile, had his hearing today in Boston and is awaiting word from Major League Baseball on whether his seven-game suspension will be reduced.

In all, eight players from the Red Sox and Rays were suspended a total of 38 games following the June 5 brawl. The fight started when Crisp rushed the mound after being hit in the right hip by a pitch from James Shields.

Tempers had carried over from the previous night, when the Rays complained about Crisp's hard slide into second baseman Akinori Iwamura on a steal attempt.