Bigger fish to fry: Braves unlikely to retaliate for Acuna HBP vs. Marlins

1. His full name is Ronald Jose Acuna, and he was born Dec. 18, 1997 in La Guaira, Venezuela. 2. The Braves signed Acuna in July 2014, and the scout who signed him, Rolando Petit, tried to sign Acuna’s dad in the 1990s. 3. Acuna's dad, Ron Acuna, played in the Mets, Blue Jays and Brewers organizations from 1999-2006, reaching as high as Double-A. 4. Ronald Acuna played in Australia in November and December 2016. In 20 games, he had an OPS of 1.001. 5. In 2017, Acuna became the youngest MVP in the Arizona

The Braves are unlikely to retaliate this weekend in Miami for Ronald Acuna’s hit by pitch.

On Aug. 15, Marlins starter Jose Urena hit Acuna’s elbow with a 97-mph fastball, his hardest-thrown first pitch of his career. The pitch is widely considered to have been thrown at Acuna intentionally. Acuna had homered four times, three consecutive of the leadoff variety, in a series the Braves ultimately swept.

It caused a near brawl that resulted in the ejections of Urena and Braves manager Brian Snitker. Benches cleared twice, leading Snitker to deliver a powerful postgame interview defending his 20-year-old star.

Braves first-base coach Eric Young Sr. was suspended one game for shoving Miami’s Brian Anderson. Urena was suspended six games – a weaker punishment in the eyes of many – and dropped his appeal.

The teams face off four times beginning Thursday, their first meeting since the event. It’s the last series of the year between the two National League East rivals.

Baseball’s old guard might call for payback, but the Braves sounded disinterested in the proposition. They echoed the same sentiment they did that night: The priority is a pennant race.

“The biggest thing in the back of our minds is trying to win tonight’s game,” Snitker said. “The fight that we’re in, what’s ahead of us. We just have to take care of business every day and do everything we can to try to win that next game.

“We all handle it collectively. The focus is trying to win tonight’s game.”

Urena instigated the bench-clearing debacle, and both clubhouses indicated it was more of an individual choice than the Marlins planning to attack Acuna. Miami shifted their rotation to where Urena will not face the Braves this weekend.

The umpires could issue a warning before Thursday’s game, though that won’t have much influence on the Braves.

“It could be something that sticks with a lot of teams, but like I said previously, we’re not focused on them, we’re not worried about them,” Acuna said through an interpreter. “We’re focused on us. We’re worried about winning and making the playoffs.”

After sweeping the Pirates, the Braves are handed a golden opportunity against the last-place Marlins. The Braves entered Thursday night with a 2.5-game lead atop the NL East. They had 71 wins, one fewer than last year’s total.