MIAMI -- Braves manager Brian Snitker was ejected for objecting to the umpires’ decision to warn both benches after Ronald Acuña Jr. was hit by a pitch during Wednesday afternoon’s 12-1 win over the Marlins at loanDepot park.
The benches calmly cleared when Acuña objected to his left arm guard being hit by Ryan Gusto’s 93.3 mph sinker in the third inning. The plunking occurred one pitch after Matt Olson hit a two-run homer that hit the second-level facade beyond the center-field wall.
Snitker didn’t think Gusto’s pitch had any intent. But he felt the optics were enough for the right-hander to be tossed. This was the objection that led to his ejection.
“You just don't go inside after a home run like that, because if you do, and you miss and hit the batter, things like that happen,” Snitker said.
Acuña took a couple steps toward the mound before being corralled toward first base. The benches and bullpens emptied, but there weren’t any physical confrontations.
As Acuña sat in his locker after the game, he said he didn’t know if Gusto was trying to hit him. The Marlins' hurler tried to tell both the outfielder and Snitker he was just following the scouting report by coming in with a sinker.
“I threw a sinker in,” Gusto said. “It obviously ran off a little bit too far in real time. It looked like he kind of just dropped his hand or elbow right into the pitch. It looked like he got out of the way, and then at the last second, just moved into it, which is what I was trying to tell him when he was staring me down.”
Once both teams returned to their respective benches, the umpires signaled that both teams had received a warning for the remainder of the game. Snitker yelled his disapproval of Gusto remaining in the game and was ejected before he took more than just a few steps on the field. This was his 22nd career ejection and second of this season.
Ozzie Albies expressed his displeasure with the exaggerated bat flip he displayed after hitting a three-run home run off Gusto in the third inning.
Albies’ bat flip was his way of saying he is well aware of how many times his good friend has been hit by this division rival. The Marlins have hit Acuña with a pitch nine times during his career. No other team has plunked him more than five times. But this was just the third time the 2023 National League MVP has been plunked by Miami since the start of the 2022 season.
“It wasn't until after I came back in here and saw some stuff online that I was like, 'Oh, he's been hit a lot [by the Marlins], so that's why he reacted that way,'” Gusto said. “But I was completely unaware of that during the outing."