What Marlins and Braves had to say about Ronald Acuna Jr. being hit by a pitch in NLDS
There was a clear consensus after the game ended: No one on either side thought Miami Marlins pitcher Sandy Alcantara was intentionally trying to hit Ronald Acuna Jr. in the third inning of the Braves’ 9-5 win to open the National League Division Series at Houston’s Minute Maid Park on Tuesday.
But the heat of the moment was there. Acuna, who hit a towering home run to lead off the first inning, came close to charging the mound after being plunked by a 97.5 mph sinker that ran inside more than Alcantara wanted. Alcantara was ready to tussle if the situation presented itself.
And after all, this has happened before, as the Braves like to remind everyone, starting with Jose Urena hitting Acuna on Aug. 15, 2018. That resulted in both benches clearing.
Here are the full quotes from those asked postgame Tuesday about the hit-by-pitch.
Marlins manager Don Mattingly
On Alcantara’s performance Tuesday and what he saw on the hit by pitch: “I thought Sandy was pretty good all day. In the seventh, we felt like he was still our best guy in the game. He was in a pretty good spot and actually got a couple weak ground balls that just found holes. At that point, we were hoping that Yimi [Garcia] would be able to stop it. The ball [in the third inning] obviously hits Acuna. Trying to go in there. I don’t know what else to say other than that.”
On what he saw from Alcantara after the hit by pitch: “I thought he settled down after that because he got a little emotional. It looked like he was chirping at their dugout a little bit or looking in there at least. Just wanted him to settle down there and make pitches. I knew he didn’t hit him on purpose. With Acuna, you can’t just lay the ball out over the plate. That ball, I looked at it. It was a good ways in, but he’s trying to run the ball of the plate in there and it got further in than what he wanted.”
Marlins pitcher Sandy Alcantara
On what he was trying to do with the pitch that hit Acuna: “I tried to go inside against him and I hit him. I don’t know why they always think every time we hit Acuna that it’s on purpose. We always pitch inside to him.”
On his performance after hitting Acuna: “Like I say always, I was competing outside. Something happened in the third inning, but that’s going to happen. Just something that happened in the game.”
On what he did to reset after emotions got high: “I’ve just got to forget about what happened. Go outside with my same mentality. Be aggressive and throw strikes.”
On what reaction he had to Acuna’s bat flip after his first-inning home run: “I mean, nothing. He hit the ball well. And then when I hit him, they thought it was on purpose, but I just tried to go hard inside to him and I hit him.”
On what Acuna said to him as Acuna was walking toward the mound: “I mean, if he’s coming to me, I will get him no matter what happens. If he’s getting ready to fight, I’m ready to fight, too. He don’t say nothing and I don’t say nothing, too, but like I said, if he’s ready to fight, I’m ready to fight.”
Marlins third baseman Brian Anderson
On how the team stayed focused after emotions ran high following the hit by pitch: “I think we just understand what we’re here for. It’s not to get into fights. We’re here to win. We’re here to play baseball. That’s where our focus is at. That’s what we’re trying to do. We’re not out here trying to hit people and stuff. We’re just trying to get in there. Guys are trying to make pitches. Guys are trying to make plays behind them. That’s our focus, just playing good baseball, going out there and trying to win each and every day.”
Braves manager Brian Snitker
On what he saw on the hit-by-pitch and what he said to the umpires: “You know, he hit a long homer and then got hit with a 97 [mph pitch]. I mean, my reaction wasn’t good. It was unfortunate. I guarantee you the kid wasn’t trying to hit him, but in that situation, I think if you’re going to go in, you’ve gotta make sure if you go in, you don’t hit him. It comes to a point where you keep dinging that kid that the middle of the plate is being taken away. It’s just happening too much to that boy.”
So you don’t think it was intentional?: “I don’t think he tried to hit him. I watched the replay and he didn’t just throw that ball at him. He tried to go in. Like I said, you’ve got to be careful going in after somebody hit a homer because you might hit him. You better be good at going in and not hitting them after a homer.”
On if he was upset that both benches were warned following the hit by pitch: “Yeah. I was upset. I think visibly.”
Braves outfielder Ronald Acuna Jr.
On getting hit, looking at Marlins bench and saying something: “I’ve got nothing to say over it. I looked over to their bench and just sort of said, ‘Hey, it’s been five times.’ But like I said, I’ve got nothing to say no. Looking back on it, I guess I could say I’ve gotten used to it at this point. But I’m not going to give it any more thought. Keep myself focused on my game and what we’ve got coming up.”
On the team rallying after the hit by pitch: “It’s great. I definitely feel like I have the support of my teammates no matter what the situation is. Obviously, we’ve been in these circumstances before where we’ve taken exception to being hit by a pitch. At this point, we’ve grown accustomed to it. We’re tired of it, but there’s nothing we can do. Our focus remains on winning and moving forward.”
On if being hit five times by a team over two-plus years is probably not a coincidence: “I mean, I don’t think it’s a coincidence just because of the fact that every time we’ve played in a series, I’ve been the one that’s been hit. That’s why I can’t say that it’s a coincidence. You just look at the series and I’m the one that’s been hit. But I’m not giving it any thought. I’m going to keep focusing on winning.”
Braves catcher Travis d’Arnaud
On the team rallying after Acuna being hit by pitch: “I think it woke us up. We all know what happened throughout the regular year and even years prior with Ronnie and that definitely woke us up. We took advantage of that momentum and we were able to win today.”
On how it’s happening too often even if there was no intent: “I don’t think it was [intentional], but it’s unfortunate that he missed and it was Ronnie. They woke us up. Shoot, we were able to score a couple huge innings and come out with a win, which is the most important thing.”
This story was originally published October 6, 2020 at 7:52 PM.
.JPG)