It did not take long for things to get a little heated in Game 1 of the NLDS between the Atlanta Braves and Miami Marlins.
Ronald Acuna Jr. led off Tuesday’s game with a home run, admiring it in style as he walked toward first and flipping the bat over his shoulder before breaking into his home run trot.
So, with one out and nobody on in the bottom of the third and the Marlins leading 4-1, Sandy Alcantara plunked Acuna in the hip with a 98 mph and the Braves All-Star was none too pleased with it.
Acuna slowly began walked out toward the mound when the home plate umpire and catcher ran out to get in between him and Alcantara. There was some chirping seen coming from the Marlins dugout and Alcantara even approached Acuna before Miguel Rojas and the first base umpire settled him back onto the pitcher’s mound.
The benches did not clear, but both dugouts were issued a warning as Braves third base coach Ron Washington was able to settle Acuna down, who was visibly upset with the Marlins.
Two batters later, Marcell Ozuna hit a double to left field which scored Acuna, who dove across home plate and was fired up as he went back into the dugout.
The Braves would add another run that inning, too, but Miami escaped holding a 4-3 lead.
FS1’s Tom Verducci spoke with Braves skipper Brian Snitker during the in-game interview and was asked about the incident.
“I don’t know. I’d probably get in trouble if I tell you exactly what I think” Snitker said. “They’ve hit this kid a number of times over the years.”
Acuna and the Marlins have a bit of a history with one another, with Miami hitting the 23-year-old star on an average once per 41.2 plate appearances. Against the rest of the league, Acuna is hit once every 80 plate appearances, per MLB.com’s Mark Bowman.
Just last month, Acuna was hit in the elbow by a pitch from Jose Urena, which resulted in warnings given out to each team. Acuna angrily slammed his bat on the ground in frustration but took first base without incident.
Alcantara faced Acuna again in the fourth inning, but this time the Marlins right-hander struck out the star slugger and stared him down a bit.
Acuna decided to get the last word in via his Instagram account after the game:
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