Cincinnati Reds outfielder Nick Castellanos' appeal of a two-game suspension has been denied, sources told ESPN's Kiley McDaniel and Jeff Passan.

Castellanos will serve both games for what MLB called "his aggressive actions and for instigating a benches-clearing incident" against the St. Louis Cardinals in the second game this year.

MLB cited health-and-safety protocols as rationale for suspension.

Castellanos had gotten hit by a pitch earlier in the inning, scored on a wild pitch. Upon scoring the run, he yelled and flexed in the direction of pitcher Jake Woodford, who had been covering home. The benches cleared -- and Castellanos wound up bearing the discipline for the incident.

Sources told ESPN that Castellanos feels like he's being targeted for having passion and that if the league is going to discipline him for others' actions -- Castellanos walked away from the scrum -- it disincentivizes players from showing any emotion.

In his second season with the Reds, Castellanos is batting .295 with five home runs and 10 RBIs.