Done out of fear. Gutless. Unprecedented. All could be used to describe the first play of Wednesday night’s Marlins-Braves game.
With the first pitch, Miami’s José Ureña beaned Atlanta’s ROTY candidate Ronald Acuña Jr, who ultimately left the game in the top of the second. Entering the game, Acuña had HRs in five straight games (eight in the last eight) and was looking to lead off a fourth consecutive game with a bomb. In an attempt to prevent that, the Miami starter hurled a fastball straight towards Acuña’s midriff. To even the most casual MLB fan, this was far from unintentional.
All year, Ureña has been bullied by the Braves. In three starts against Atlanta, he’s allowed a combined 12 runs through 16 innings… giving him a 12 ERA against the division leaders. Suffice it to say he wouldn’t like his odds against the red-hot Acuña, who, in his rookie campaign, has become the youngest player to ever hit five career lead-off homers. To avoid throwing to Atlanta’s golden boy, Ureña did as any pitcher would to avoid throwing to a batter: he tossed a 97mph fastball straight at Acuña’s side. Acuña did protect his ribs but risked taking the brunt of the hit on his elbow.
The first pitch of the night to Ronald Acuña Jr.
Clearly intentional. pic.twitter.com/TlDpUGOdcW
— FOX Sports: Braves (@FOXSportsBraves) August 15, 2018
As for retaliation: the light shoving match was a far cry from the brawl during a Giants-Dodgers game the night prior. Yes, relievers jogged in from the bullpen, and yes, Braves skipper Brian Snitker was tossed, but nothing more than an enormous huddle around the mound arose from the scrum. It wasn’t until after the melee minor altercation that Ureña was eventually ejected from the game, yet that was after taking a few more practice pitches and nearly ten minutes of discussion between the umpires.
Entering the game, Ureña was clearly looking for blood. That 97mph fastball that drilled Acuña was not only in the fastest 1% of pitches he’s thrown this year, but also the fastest pitch he’s ever thrown to start a game (per @ESPNStatsInfo). In a postgame conference, Marlins manager Don Mattingly attested “If you watch José [Ureña] pitch, pretty much every first pitch of every game is… pretty much there…” Despite this, Ureña was not simply using a little bit of game theory to scare the batter off the plate. ESPN writer Buster Onley noted that Ureña dropped his glove, “beckon[ing] them forward.”
The Braves staff and roster were rightfully upset by Ureña’s action, but no one resorted to violence. Five innings later, Marlins’ pitcher Javy Guerra did hit Atlanta’s Freddie Freeman, however, it was obvious the ball simply got away from him, and no animosity was shown by either side. That said, the pitch did negatively effect Atlanta. Mere moments after taking the field in the top of the 2nd, Acuña jogged off the field before starter Kevin Gausman could get a pitch off. He was having pains in his left elbow, right where Ureña struck him, and he left the game.
Luckily for the Braves, the loss of Acuña only fired up the home team. They combined for eight runs, including a 4th inning home run by SS Dansby Swanson. Circling the bases, Swanson paid tribute to his teammate by recreating his signature celebration.
Dansby Swanson broke out Ronald Acuña Jr.'s trademark celebration for his home run trot. 👀👀 pic.twitter.com/terypjJZrf
— FOX Sports: Braves (@FOXSportsBraves) August 16, 2018
This act truly is one of the most tasteless plays by a player in recent memory. In response to getting dominated in three straight games by the hottest batter in baseball, José Ureña put his entire body behind a pitch that could sideline Ronald Acuña Jr for a while. Preliminary X-rays have shown there is no breakage, but Acuña has been listed as day-to-day. Regardless of the time Acuña misses, be it just that game or the remainder of the season, Ureña’s move was gutless, done out of fear, and reflects poorly on the Marlins’ organization.
As of now, Ureña has not been disciplined by either the MLB or the Marlins, however, odds are he won’t miss many games. Since 2006, suspensions for intentionally hit batsmen have been on a decline, falling from as many as 12 in ’06 to 0 in ’14. None of these suspensions were more than 10 games, according to Spotrac.
Many, including multiple Braves, have called for commissioner Rob Manfred to make Ureña an example. Some have called for him to be suspended five games for every game Acuña misses due to injury, others have demanded that he miss the remaining 42 games of the Marlins’ season. Instead of intentionally walking Acuña like most pitchers would’ve, he risked a ROTY-candidate’s season. And for what? Ureña avoided becoming known for allowing Acuña’s fourth straight lead-off dinger. Instead, he’ll be remembered for being the first pitcher in the live-ball era, which spans from 1920-now, to hit a batter with the only pitch he threw in a game.
And for those worried about Acuña’s lead-off HR streak, fear not. MLB rule, 9.23(b):
“Consecutive-Game Hitting Streaks
A consecutive-game hitting streak shall not be terminated if all of a batter’s plate appearances (one or more) in a game result in a base on balls, hit batsman, defensive interference or obstruction or sacrifice bunt.”