The Atlanta Braves found the ultimate retaliation versus Jose Urena and the Miami Marlins, as they opened the series with a 7-2 victory.
Let’s not bury the lede. While the result was great for the Atlanta Braves as they moved back to .500 on the season, it was the second inning that will steal the show.
Just a reminder that Jose Urena plunked Ronald Acuna with the first pitch of the game last August, which prompted the benches to clear and Brian Snitker to rightfully go crazy to protect his young star.
At the time when Acuna got hit, he was on a tear. He was trying to hit a home run in six straight contests and had also hit eight home runs in eight games, including three leadoff homers.
This time around, the Marlins had runners on second and third with two outs, with Urena at the plate. The first pitch from Kevin Gausman went behind Urena, in a clear retaliation move, and home plate umpire Jeff Nelson immediately ejected Gausman.
Brian McCann argued, as did Brian Snitker, but Nelson pulled the quick trigger on Gausman.
Alan has much more on the situation, so there is no need to deviate anymore from a solid win. But needless to say, there will be plenty of takes on what transpired early in this one.
Let’s take a look at the rest of the game.
Donaldson rakes in return
Josh Donaldson was back in the lineup after missing three games with a tweaked calf and he was spectacular in his return. He went 3-for-5 with a two-run double in the fifth inning.
On the season, Donaldson is hitting .277 with five home runs, nine doubles and 16 runs batted in.
David O’Brien from The Athletic said it best about Donaldson in this tweet.
Seriously, watching Donaldson hit, I hope it's evident to everyone that he's a big upgrade offensively. Nothing against Camargo, who's a damn good player. But this guy is special. Still.
— David O'Brien (@DOBrienATL) May 4, 2019
The catching tandem continues to rake
There was some skepticism about signing Brian McCann this offseason because of all of his injuries recently, but he, along with Tyler Flowers, have been a good tandem behind the plate this season.
McCann, who hit a two-run home run off Urena in the top of the sixth inning, is hitting .309 with two home runs and 11 RBI.
Combine that with Flowers’ numbers and the starting catching tandem has five home runs, 15 RBI and is hitting .313.
They are already worth one win, too.
Toussaint excels in relief role
As a starting pitcher this season, Touki Toussaint lasted only an inning and a third and allowed seven earned runs in an April contest against the Indians.
As a reliever, he’s thrown 10 innings and allowed just one earned run. He has struck out 13 batters.
It is starting to seem pretty obvious where Toussaint belongs, no?
The bullpen has stabilized to a certain degree recently, with Luke Jackson, Daniel Winkler, Jacob Webb and Jerry Blevins pitching solidly in relief.
If the pen can add Toussaint and A.J. Minter can figure things out, then all of a sudden there are some options.
By no means is it great, and there definitely should be more upgrades, but that is at least a start.
Mike Soroka takes on Trevor Richards tomorrow night as the Atlanta Braves go for a series win.