Major League Baseball has announced that Houston Astros reliever Bryan Abreu lost his appeal of the two-game suspension he was issued over the weekend for intentionally hitting Texas Rangers outfielder Adolis Garcia in Game 5 of the ALCS.

That suspension, however, won't impact Abreu's availability for the rest of the postseason. He will instead serve his two-game suspension in the first two games of next season, the league announced Monday.

Abreu plunked Garcia on the arm in the bottom of the eighth inning of Game 5, just a few innings after Garcia hit a three-run home run and boisterously celebrated in his home ballpark. Garcia immediately turned around to confront catcher Martin Maldonado after he was hit, assuming Maldonado had called for Abreu to hit him.