Everything said about Marlins ejections after Pablo Lopez hit Braves’ Ronald Acuna Jr.

Pablo Lopez’s first pitch on Friday became the latest chapter of the saga that has evolved over the past four seasons between the Miami Marlins and the Atlanta Braves’ Ronald Acuna Jr.

A 91.6 mph sinker ran high and inside, plunking the Braves’ star outfielder. He was upset. Braves manager Brian Snitker felt it was intentional and shared those feelings.

Lopez was ejected, as were Marlins manager Don Mattingly and pitching coach Mel Stottlemyre Jr., but not before the Marlins tried to plead their case (to no avail) to second-base umpire and crew chief Dan Iassogna.

The Marlins, Braves and Iassogna all shared their thoughts on the hit by pitch and the 12 minutes that followed before play resumed in the eventual 1-0 Braves win at Truist Park.

Here is what everyone had to say.

Marlins manager Don Mattingly

First off, your thoughts on how the Pablo Lopez ejection was handled and what you feel comfortable sharing about your take.

“Yeah, I’m sure that’s gonna get a lot of the talk, so I would rather kind of start with just what a job the bullpen did. I thought our bullpen was tremendous. You know, picking up that game the way guys pitch, starting with [Ross Detwiler] and then [Anthony] Bender, [Richard] Bleier right down the list. Our guys were incredible tonight, and showed us a lot. So, like to start with that one.

“Yeah, I was really disappointed by the way it got handled. Really disappointed in the umpiring crew. When it originally happen, if you really watch close, Pablo turns his head and you could tell he didn’t mean to hit him. There’s no reason to hit Acuna. I mean, this guy’s been, he’s a great player. We have tons of respect for the Braves. And we’ve even talked about it openly about this as a club that we’ve got to that we can play with. We felt like they were the class of the division. There’s absolutely nothing going on this year with the Braves. So when Dan tells me because of the history and it always happens and it’s always Acuna, it’s just not true. That’s not true.

“Andy, I’m pretty sure Brian Anderson has been hit six times since Acuna’s gotten hit. I think Miggy maybe has been hit just as many. Pete O’Brien got a broken rib from [Braves pitcher Mike] Soroka, 100 percent on purpose. So this isn’t, there’s nothing. That’s over. ‘18 is over. And for Dan to tell me that this is a history? There’s been history in the past from a guy that’s not even with us anymore [current Detroit Tigers pitcher Jose Urena], so to throw Pablo Lopez out of the game on the first pitch is, basically Dan got bullied into it. When it happened, nobody said anything. They didn’t come out and start this right away. 100 percent. Just, I don’t know what happened to Dan and what he was thinking there, but to tell me this is in the history and this is in part of it. This is 2018 when this happened [when Urena hit Acuna the first time]. And to say he’s the only guy that gets hit. We’ve been hit plenty of times, and we’re not complaining about it. So, it got mishandled. 100 percent got mishandled.”

Were you surprised that it went straight to ejections and that the umpires didn’t decide to issue warnings or some other type of notice?

“Well, the warnings would have been wrong, too, because then Snit for sure is going to get tossed. If you give a warning to both teams after that, there shouldn’t have been any warning. Shouldn’t have been anything. Honestly. I mean I told them, I said if Pablo would have went to his chest and said ‘Hey, my bad. I didn’t mean to,’ then they probably wouldn’t have done that, but they don’t seem turn his head right when it happens. You can see it. Watch it on video. It was just mishandled by the umpires disappointing. You know, it puts us in a bad spot. Another thing I told Dan is ‘You’re putting us in a bad spot this whole series. you’re going to run us all the way through our bullpen. You put us in an awful spot for the whole series.’ Just mishandled.”

Do you think Snitker going out there kind of influenced their decision and moving forward, do you anticipate maybe talking to them to say ‘Hey, let’s stop this nonsense?’

“It wasn’t on purpose. There’s nothing to stop. Nothing’s been going on. I mean, seriously, we have zero issues with the Braves. We have zero issues with these guys. So this is a past thing that happened three years ago. So, I mean, it just got you got mishandled by the umpires. I understand Brian’s gonna be pissed. That’s just the way it goes. You understand that part. He’s pissed. It doesn’t look good. Right. But it’s just there’s nothing there. And for it to keep going like this and for Pablo to get penalize because of something happened in ‘18 and Dan’s bringing up the past like this... We’ve got a ghost in the house. I don’t understand what we’re, what the past is in this.”

To clarify, this was referring to Snitker coming out of the dugout and insinuating to the umpires that Lopez intentionally hit Acuna and if you think that influenced the umpires’ decision...

“I’m sure it did. I’m sure it did because nothing was happening until then. And again, you know, I know Brian, have a ton of respect for him and he’s protecting his guys. Yeah. That’s just the way it is.”

Is there anything you can discuss with the league because now it seems like every time you face Acuna, you’re having a condition because any hit by pitch could be considered intentional if they keep bringing up the history and the track record?

“I don’t know what to do about it. I mean, we’re trying to get the guy out, and we’ve had trouble getting him out, that’s for sure. We’re trying to get him out. We’re not trying to, we don’t want to hurt him. We don’t want to hit him. We’re trying to get him out. As simple as that. And yeah, I don’t like the fact when Dan is telling me about the past and history because it’s a different guy. This is a different team. Probably half the guys on our club weren’t even there. So I mean, it’s just, I don’t get it.”

Do you feel like this sets a bad precedent that every time you have a guy go on the mound, they have to worry about going inside on Acuna?

“I hope not. I mean, hopefully the league handles it because this, if they thought it was intentional they should have thrown him out right away. If they 100 percent thought it was intentional, if they thought Pablo Lopez went out there and said ‘I’m gonna hit Ronald Acuna on the first pitch,’ they should have just called him out instantly. It’s just, they just mishandled it. That’s all.”

Just to be clear: No warnings were given at any point?

No. Nothing. We played these guys in the playoffs last year. There were no warnings there either.”

You made a comment about Mike Soroka hitting Peter O’Brien. What was that referring to?

“100 percent. The next year. Hit Peter right in the ribs, and we knew it. We didn’t say a word Peter went to first base. And I’m sure he’ll deny it, but he did it on purpose, 100 percent. Hit him right in the ribs, broke his ribs.”

Would Pablo be available to pitch again before his next start assuming he isn’t suspended by MLB?

“I’m not sure about any of the league stuff, but that could be something we talk about. Obviously, he threw one pitch.”

Marlins pitcher Pablo Lopez

What were your thoughts on how things were handled tonight?

“I think my reaction was [that it was] pretty confusing. You could tell by how Donnie and Mel came out of the dugout. They were pretty shocked by it, too. It was just, I don’t know. Like I didn’t know how to react. I didn’t know what to do. It just caught me by surprise. It stings because the bullpen came and they did a fantastic job. They did an amazing job, the bullpen, shout out to them. They picked me up and they did amazing, but like I just feel bad that the bullpen had to like throw [eight] innings. I didn’t like that.”

The sinker you threw was 91 mph. That’s below your average velocity. What were you trying to do with the pitch?

“We were just trying to get ahead, try to pick a spot like inside the strike zone.You can go back and watch my last start against the Atlanta Braves. It was a Sunday at home. My first two pitches were fastballs trying to go up and in inside the strike zone. It’s working to get ahead, get ahead. We all know Acuna is a superstar. We all know the things he does. You also don’t want to put him on base because he’s a guy that can steal 40-50 bases a year. But that was just a poorly executed sinker, you know, The ball just ran instead of sink and unfortunately hit him and that’s not what I want. That’s not what you want on the first pitch of the night.”

You only threw one pitch, so how would you feel about potentially pitching again Saturday?

“It depends on what they tell me. I don’t know how teams usually handle the situation when it comes to that because you also have to keep in mind there’s a schedule for the starters that are supposed to throw tomorrow and the next day, but whatever the case may be — like like you said, I only threw one pitch and the warm ups before the game; it’s not like a lot, so whatever they tell me to do, I’m sure I’ll be fine.

Would you want that challenge?

“Yeah, I mean just throwing one pitch after a week of from not pitching, you just want to get back out there and pitch as soon as possible.”

What did you say in particular to the umpires and does your mentality change moving forward in any way?

“The mentality doesn’t change. There’s always a job to be done. My job is trying to not let anyone get on base. His job is trying to get on base and there’s always that battle. I have much respect for everyone that’s in this league. I know how hard they’ve worked to be here and stay here so the last thing I want to do is jeopardize that in a harmful way. If they get on, they get on. I’ll try to get the next guy out. I’ll try to get the next person to roll a double play and I’m just moving forward. It’s the same. Try to work ahead and stay ahead and just try to stay in a good routine. Just try to do my job.”

With how the situation was handled, do you have any worry or fear that this could happen again?

“I think the worry’s always gonna be there, but that shouldn’t take away from our game planning. You try to game plan for a reason and you try to come up with a way to try to put yourself in good counts and then execute good pitches. Moving forward, I feel like even if that worry’s there, we just have to find a way to still do our jobs and hopefully everything’s just fair for everyone. Try to make everything fair for everyone and everyone’s just trying to do their jobs.”

Are you upset, angry even, with what happened?

“Yeah, I’m very upset, I just hate the bullpen had to go through that, but once again, I’m really proud of how they did, the way they handled it, the way they pitched these guys, but as a starter, what I want to do is try to make the bullpen’s job easier. I couldn’t do that. That’s what really upsets me about everything today.”

Marlins shortstop Miguel Rojas

How did you see everything unfold with the first pitch between Acuna and Pablo?

“What I saw is a situation is handled by the umpires. They never, if they thought it was on purpose and intentional, the guy behind the plate if they have an idea that was going on or what happened in the past or whatever they think about, they should have thrown him out right away without getting together or waiting for their manager to go out there and tell them what to do. That’s one of the things that I’m so disappointed about, not just the umpires but the way they handled the situation because I’m not throwing my hands in the air every time I get hit by a pitch by them, or Andy every time he got hit by pitch in the last four years by them. If I have a problem with one of the guys, I will solve it or I will try to make it right, talking to the pitcher or whatever. There’s different ways that you can take care of business and not just going out there and trying to bully the umpire and the other team just because one of your best players is getting hit by pitch. At the end of the day, we don’t want to hit Acuna. Acuna has been killing us with a ball down and away. You guys recall, this guy hit a homer when we threw a fastball down and away and this is the first time he got hit by pitch this year. We played two series already. We’re trying to pitch him up and in. That’s not something that is new. Pablo is the nicest guy in the world. I understand they don’t need to know about our players, and we don’t want them to know about us. We’re playing different teams, and at the end of the day, I just care about my players and I know Pablo didn’t do that on purpose.”

You mentioned all the hit by pitches you and Brian Anderson have had and that neither of you have ever complained. Is that what’s so frustrating about the situation, that it’s always spun like it’s intentional?

“I mean, hit by pitches are part of the game. And for me, I remember the guy who hit me the most over there. it was Julio Teheran, Colombian guy. If I have something to ask him or whatever, I will try to find a way to have a conversation with Julio and ask him what’s going on. But, I mean, just throwing your hands in the air and waiting for the for the manager to come out and trying to tell the umpires you have to throw these guys out because he’s being hit so many times, that’s not the right way to do it.”

So in terms of the way that Acuna does that, throwing his hands in the air, is that not appreciated the team?

“We don’t care about that. We don’t care. We don’t care what he does after he gets hit by a pitch. Nobody likes to get hit by a pitch. I got hit by pitch early in the year and I got mad for like 10 seconds. That doesn’t mean that I’m asking for the pitcher to get thrown out. I mean, I got hit by a pitch in the middle of my back. That hurts. You never want to get hit by a pitch. I mean, you can react the way that you want. We don’t care. We don’t care about like the other player reacting. Nobody wants to get hit by a pitch. Nobody on our team wants anybody to get hurt. At the end of the day, we’re all baseball players. We all have families. We all have people that we have to take care of home. The thing is, we don’t care how how you went about it after you get hit by a pitch because it hurts when you get hit by pitch with a 95 mile per hour and you can get bruised for like three days and you’re not gonna hit the same. We understand all that. The problem is when we’re getting bullied by the umpire.”

Do you think the reason Pablo Lopez was thrown out was because Acuna threw his hands in the air after being hit by the pitch?

“No. The reason why Pablo got thrown out of the game is because their manager came out of the dugout and talked to the umpire. They didn’t even know the facts about us getting hit by pitches, the same amount of times before in the same span. So, I mean, if he’s not prepared to do something like that, why are you pulling something out of your back pocket like that?”

Braves manager Brian Snitker

Were you more upset when you came out about them hitting Acuna or at the umpire looking like he was going to give warnings? What were you upset about mostly?

“Kind of upset it’s the third time they’ve hit him with the first pitch of the game.”

Did you think the umpire was going to issue warnings?

“I didn’t know what was going to happen.”

Obviously, they’re going to say it was unintentional but is it one of those things where it’s just happened so often that you can’t give them the benefit of the doubt?

“Yeah. Well, I’ve watched it too much.”

Braves outfielder Ronald Acuna Jr.

What were you thinking after you got hit?

“Nothing. Just steal a base and be able to score that run. My entire focus was on the team winning.”

Did you think it was intentional?

“I don’t know, to be honest, just because of how many times it’s happened. Whether it was or whether it wasn’t doesn’t matter to me. My primary purpose and focus is that the team won.”

Did Pablo Lopez say anything to you when he walked toward the first-base line?

“We actually didn’t get the opportunity to talk at all. We never actually crossed paths or anything, but every time I see him in the walkways or whatever, we always say hello and give each other a hug. We always exchange pleasantries, and I think he’s a good guy.”

Umpire crew chief Dan Iassogna

What was the deciding factor that went into ejecting Pablo Lopez?

“So what we do as umpires we’re beat cops. We’re presented with a situation, we take in all the facts that we can, and then we make our decision, put it in a report and we send it upstairs. That’s what we do, and that’s what we did tonight. So tonight, we had a fastball that we, the four of us got together — and I don’t know if you realize this, but MLB changed our protocols a couple of years ago as far as how we deal with ejections. It used to be that it really rested a lot on the plate umpire, and the plate umpire would judge, ‘Hey, was that intentional or not?’ Now what we do is we all get together. It’s similar to the NBA where they get together and they discuss about a flagrant foul or not. So what we did was after the pitch was thrown, we made sure to restore order. So we got Acuna up the line and then we talked as a crew, about whether the pitch was intentional or not. That’s the only thing we decide. Is it intentional or not? We decided as a crew that, yes, it was intentional. And then we made the decision to eject the pitcher.”

What made you decide that it was intentional?

“There’s numerous things that go into it. Specifically, what type of pitch it is, where the pitch was, where it hit him. Those were our two main factors. You know it was a fastball. It was thrown directly at Acuna. And we felt it was intentional.”

Marlins manager Don Mattingly said you mentioned the past history between Acuna and the Marlins factored into the reason for the ejections. Is that true?

“I think if you followed baseball at all, you understand that there’s history between this team and Acuna specifically, but there was no heads up in place, no formal heads up in place for us prior to this game. And understand this to one of the other things that we’re tasked to do is to keep control of the game. And we felt, and I felt, that by ejecting the pitcher rather than putting a warning out, that would absolutely stop any retaliation or continuing to really start a beanball war throughout the game. And so we made the decision to eject. I ejected him, and we did not have a beanball war. Tonight, we had one ejection. We had one hit batter and we had an injection.”

After the ejection, a few Marlins players, manager Don Mattingly and pitching coach Mel Stottlemyre Jr. came up to you and the umpiring crew to plead their cases. You gave them a fair amount of time to talk. Mattingly and Stottlemyre were ejected. Was there anything they could have said to overturn the ejection and what was the final straw that led to Mattingly and Stottlemyre also being ejected?

“I will be putting in my report what was exactly said. I completely understand, and we expected Dn to come out of the dugout and if you saw, once I made the ejection, I walked over to Don and explained our reasoning to him. Mel actually ran out, and then was ejected when he got out there, I won’t tell you what the last straw was. I would never comment on what was specifically said during an argument, but it will be in my report and it will go into the office.

Do you anticipate this impacting the rest of the series? Could the teams be issued warnings ahead of time or anything of that nature?

“I’m confident we will — I mean I will talk to my higher ups, but I’m pretty confident that we’re not going to have warnings before a game. That rarely happens. What we’re tasked to do is keep the peace on tonight, for tonight’s game, and we felt like we handled it. And by taking the actions that we did with the ejection, we did not have a beanball war tonight. Tomorrow’s a new day. That’s the best part about baseball. Every day is a new day. Tomorrow’s a new day.

If it was anyone other than Ronald Acuna Jr. at the plate when the hit by pitch happened, do you envision things would have unfolded the way they did?

“It was Acuna. It happened early, but it was Acuna and, you know, we handled the situation that was presented to us tonight.”

This story was originally published July 3, 2021 at 10:15 AM.

Jordan McPherson

Miami Herald

305-376-2129

Jordan McPherson covers the Miami Hurricanes and Florida Panthers for the Miami Herald. He attended the University of Florida and covered the Gators athletic program for five years before joining the Herald staff in December 2017.