MLB Officially Suspends Pitcher Who Plunked Red-Hot Prospect Acuna
Major League Baseball suspended Miami Marlins pitcher Jose Urena on Thursday for throwing at the Atlanta Braves red-hot rookie Ronald Acuna Jr.
Urena got hit with a six-game suspension for “intentionally hitting” Acuna on Wednesday night, MLB.com reported.
He was also fined an undisclosed sum.
Acuna was the first batter of the game for the Braves in the bottom of the first. Urena hit him with a 97 mile per hour fastball on the left elbow.
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 pitch sparked both benches to clear.
Benches clear in Marlins-Braves after José Ureña hits Ronald Acuña Jr. in 1st inning.
Acuña Jr. (5 straight games with HR, 3 straight with leadoff HR) exits in 2nd inning. pic.twitter.com/V2aSu97YEX
— MLB (@MLB) August 16, 2018
Acuna left the game but was not seriously injured. He played Thursday night in the Atlanta’s 5-3 loss to the Colorado Rockies.
Many fans believe Urena should have received a harsher suspension for throwing at the rookie, who had hit leadoff home runs in the prior two games against the Marlins. They believe Urena plunked him to make sure the 20-year-old phenom didn’t do it again.
Jose Urena should've gotten a 10 game suspension. Reported 6 games is weak sauce. MLB can drop the hammer, who cares? Certainly not Marlins fans.
— MikeBell929 (@MikeBellATL) August 16, 2018
But Urena said in an Instagram post that he wasn’t trying to hit Acuna.
“While pitching against the Braves, my intentions were not to hurt anyone. I was pitching my game plan as I always do. Unfortunately things escalated into something that was never intended. I am glad and thankful Ronald Acuna was able to return to the lineup this evening without there being any issues. I am a competitor and want to compete anytime I am on the mound, and have the utmost respect for those who I compete against,” Urena said in the post, MLB.com reported.
To summarize, Ronald Acuña Jr. is the youngest player ever to…
Homer twice on back-to-back days
Homer 8 times in an 8-game span
Homer 6 times in a 5-game span
Homer in 5 straight games
Homer to lead off 3 straight games
Hit 5 career leadoff homers#ChopOn https://t.co/nsLd3G45kZ— OptaSTATS (@OptaSTATS) August 15, 2018
Urena was ejected from the game as was Braves manager Brian Snitker. Braves first base coach Eric Young got hit with a one-game suspension for shoving Marlins third baseman Brian Anderson in the melee.
Marlins manager Don Mattingly said he understood why the Braves were upset, but said Urena has a history of throwing inside.
“If you watch Jose pitch, pretty much the first pitch of every game is pretty much there,” Mattingly said, according to MLB.com. “We talked with Jose right after the game, and basically, he was saying, he knows the guy has been swinging the bat good. He was trying to get one close. He was trying to run it off in there, and that was the purpose of his pitch. That’s exactly what he told us. I had talked with him before that. It was like, ‘This kid is swinging the bat good. We’ve got to figure out how to get him out, right.'”
Urena leads the majors with 11 hit batters this season. Last year he hit 14 batters to lead the majors.
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