Braves throw at Marlins pitcher in retaliation for Ronald Acuna Jr. HBP
The heated feud between the Atlanta Braves and Miami Marlins has spilled over into a new season.
The NL East division rivals were at odds late in the 2018 season after Marlins pitcher Jose Urena drilled Ronald Acuna Jr. with a 97.5 mph fastball on his first pitch of the game on Aug. 15.
The incident led to two different bench-clearing altercations during the game and resulted in a six-game suspension for the Marlins right-hander. It also prompted Braves pitcher Kevin Gausman, who started opposite Urena in that game, to state he might retaliate if the opportunity to face Urena ever arose again.
#Braves' Gausman: "I think he [Ureña] decided he was going to handle it a certain way. I don’t agree with it, but it’s his career and he’s going to have to deal with the consequences."
— David O'Brien (@DOBrienATL) August 16, 2018
In the Braves 7-2 win on Friday night, Gausman had his opportunity. And he wasted no time sending his message.
On the very first pitch of the their first meeting in 2019, Gausman fired a fastball behind Urena and was immediately ejected.
Gausman entered the game having not a hit a batter all season.
He still hasn’t, of course, but that his command was so off on this pitch to Urena raised a red flag with the umpires.
After the game, Gausman didn’t exactly dismiss it being on purpose, either.
"Obviously, the umpire thought that there was a reason behind it and decided to throw me out of the game," said Gausman. "Obviously, MLB's going to look at it, investigate it, so I'm not going to really comment anything further than that."
Gausman will definitely face some punishment from MLB. The question is to what degree. That the pitch stayed low might and didn’t actually hit Urena should work in his favor.
As for Urena, he seemed to be unfazed by the incident.
"For me, it was, just play the game, like normal," said Urena. "If they want to do something, if they were ready to do that, good for them. I just tried to keep playing the game to cover for my team."
Urena ended up taking the loss on Friday after allowing five runs in six innings.
How it all began
Acuna entered the Aug. 15, 2018, game having homered in five straight games, including three straight against Miami. Urena, in a bid to take command of home plate, ended up drilling Acuna with his hardest first pitch of the season, a 97.5-mph fastball.
Acuna was hit near his left elbow and remained on the ground for several minutes as players from both sides shouted, pushed and shoved. Acuna also tossed his batting equipment toward the pitching mound.
Fortunately, Acuna avoided a serious injury, but the Braves were understandably angry after the fact.
Apparently, they still are.
Now that this fuse has been lit again, it will be interesting to see just how this weekend series plays out.
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