Ronald Acuña Jr. hit by Miami Marlins pitch for the ninth time in his career, causing benches to clear

In the matchup where Atlanta Braves triumphed over Miami Marlins 12-1, Ronald Acuña Jr., the Braves’ former NL MVP, was hit by a pitch. The umpire issued warnings to both sides, prompting Braves manager Brian Snitker to object and get ejected.

In the third inning, when Acuña’s left forearm guard was struck by a 93.3 mph sinker from Ryan Gusto, players from both teams calmly emptied their benches. This hit-by-pitch occurred right after Matt Olson hit a two-run homer that struck the facade of the second-tier stands beyond the center field wall.

Snitker did not believe Gusto intended to hit Acuña with the pitch. However, he felt the visual impact alone justified ejecting the right-hander. It was Snitker’s objection that led to his own removal from the game.

“You can’t throw inside after someone just hit a home run like that, because if you miss and hit the batter, this kind of situation happens,” Snitker stated.

Before being guided back to first base, Acuña took a few steps toward the mound. Both teams’ benches and bullpens cleared, but no physical altercation occurred.

After the game, Acuña sat in his locker room saying he was unsure if Gusto’s pitch was intentional. The Marlins pitcher tried to explain to Acuña and Snitker that he was simply following scouting reports by throwing an inside sinker.

“I threw an inside sinker,” Gusto said. “It clearly missed its mark a bit too much. It looked like he just put his hand or elbow into the ball’s path. He seemed to try to avoid it but then moved back at the last second, which is what I was trying to communicate when I stared at him.”

Once both teams returned to their dugouts, the umpires indicated that both teams were warned for the remainder of the game. Snitker loudly protested Gusto remaining on the mound and was ejected after taking a few steps forward. This marked the 22nd ejection of his career and his second this season.

Ozzie Albies expressed frustration over his exaggerated bat flip after hitting a three-run homer off Gusto in the third inning.

Albies’ bat flip was his way of showing he was fully aware of how many times his close friend had been hit by this divisional opponent. Acuña has been hit by Marlins pitches nine times in his career, more than any other team, which has never hit him more than five times. Since the 2022 season, this was only the third time the 2023 NL MVP has been hit by Miami.

“It wasn’t until I came back here and saw some stuff online that I realized, ‘Oh, he’s been hit a lot by them, so that’s why he reacted that way,’” Gusto said. “But during the game, I had no idea about that.”