Braves-Marlins benches empty after hot-hitting Ronald Acuña Jr. drilled by first pitch
Atlanta Braves rookie Ronald Acuña Jr. has spent the week abusing Miami Marlins pitching, leading off each of the first three games in the series with a home run. In Wednesday’s finale, the Marlins flipped the script in a painful way when starting pitcher Jose Ureña drilled Acuña with his first pitch of the game.
The 97.5 mph fastball hit Acuña square in the left elbow and left the hot-hitting rookie in considerable pain. From there, the situation quickly escalated into a benches-clearing incident as the Braves clearly felt there were bad intentions behind the Ureña’s pitch. The umpires agreed, ejecting the 26-year-old right-hander from the game immediately.
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Both benches were warned and the game was completed without further incident. The Braves completed a four-game sweep with a 5-2 victory.
What is Ronald Acuña Jr.’s status?
Acuña initially remained in the game, but was removed before the next defensive inning. X-rays were negative, but manager Brian Snitker says his star rookie is still being evaluated. A CT scan was reportedly performed and the Braves should have a firm update on his status Thursday.
Did Jose Ureña hit Ronald Acuña Jr. on purpose?
It’s never easy to read true intentions of a pitcher, but the visual evidence here seems to speak volumes. The measurable readings offer more evidence that Ureña had purpose as he ramped up the velocity on his first delivery.
The pitch that hit Ronald Acuña was 97.5 MPH.
Out of the 2,125 pitches that José Ureña has thrown this season, that's in the 99th percentile of the fastest pitches he's thrown.
That was also the fastest pitch José Ureña has ever thrown to open a game. pic.twitter.com/KYLVQvqER8
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) August 16, 2018
The quick ejection indicates the umpires felt there was intent. It’s the first time a pitcher has been ejected for hitting the first batter since John Lackey of the Los Angeles Angels hit Ian Kinsler of the Texas Rangers on May 16, 2009.
The Braves are understandably angry
Despite the win and at least one positive update on Acuña, the Braves weren’t ready to let the situation go after the game. Snitker in particular was emotional while reiterating how the Braves clubhouse felt about the incident.
#Braves’ Snitker: “It was obviously intentional…. unbelievably, totally uncalled for.”
— David O'Brien (@DOBrienATL) August 16, 2018
#Braves manager Brian Snitker could barely hold back his emotions as he discussed Acuña getting beaned by first pitch from Ureña. Players said they'd never seen Snitker so fired up and that it was great to see, but they weren't surprised that he once again had their backs.
— David O'Brien (@DOBrienATL) August 16, 2018
Longtime Braves first baseman Freddie Freeman was even stronger with his words. He pointed the finger directly at Ureña, calling his actions “gutless.”
#Braves’ Freddie Freeman on beanball: “It was gutless. That was not the Marlins, that was just Jose Ureña. … Hopefully something’s done about it.”
— David O'Brien (@DOBrienATL) August 16, 2018
Acuña entered having homered in a Braves franchise record tying five straight games. That streak, by the way, does not end as a result of Wednesday’s developments.
Per MLB rules, because Acuna's only plate appearance resulted in him being hit by a pitch, his home run streaks will be intact when he returns to action.
— Mark Bowman (@mlbbowman) August 16, 2018
The Marlins were not thrilled either
Marlins manager Don Mattingly had Ureña’s back, but not to the point that he felt Ureña was void of blame. Mattingly says the matter was discussed with Ureña and that hitting batters in not how Miami want to handle combating hot hitters.
Don Mattingly on what he told #Marlins RHP Jose Urena: "What we said with Jose, is 'I don't want to see this kid get hit.' He's a great player. He's going to be great for a long time. For us, he's beat us up, but this is not the way want to handle that situation."
— Joe Frisaro (@JoeFrisaro) August 16, 2018
More from Mattingly: "Obviously, this is not something that we represent or believe in as an organization, or myself too. I would never want that kid getting hit and cause that kind of problem." #Marlins #Braves
— Joe Frisaro (@JoeFrisaro) August 16, 2018
The league will have the final say on this matter. We’re guessing a suspension is coming Ureña’s way.
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