The Miami Marlins were tired of Ronald Acuna Jr. hitting home runs off of their pitchers, so they found a way to put a stop to it.
The Miami Marlins were growing frustrated at being victimized by the bat of Ronald Acuna Jr.
The Atlanta Braves superstar-in-the-making had already hit three lead-off home runs off of the Marlins hapless starting pitchers during this four-game series, and that had to take a toll on a team that is having (another) tough year.
So, Marlins starter Jose Urena had a plan to put a stop to the Acuna Show on Wednesday night.
In the first inning, on the very first pitch, Urena hurled a pitch right toward Acuna Jr. which hit him dead in the hip. It was so hard that many in SunTrust Park could hear the smack.
There was no way that Urena could plead that it wasn’t intentional. The Braves have demoralized the Marlins all season long, and they were getting tired of it being Atlanta’s pinata. So Urena did what he (thought) he had to do, and that was to send a message.
The Braves got the message alright.
After the pitch, the Braves dugout began to empty out, taking offense to what they believed was an attempt to hurt their star player. The Marlins dugout emptied as well, and a potential brawl was brewing. After the umpires separated the two teams, tempers continued to flair, and the two teams returned back to the field in an attempt to do battle once again.
In the end, Braves manager Brian Snitker was ejected and Urena got a warning, which meant that if he hit another player, he would be tossed. It was probably the most excitement we’ve seen between these two teams all season, which says a lot from Miami’s side.