Pitcher suspended

Jose Urena hit Braves leadoff man.

Marlins pitcher José Ureña has been suspended six games after hitting Braves outfielder Ronald Acuña Jr. with the first pitch of Wednesday night’s game — an event that set off a benches-clearing skirmish.

Major League Baseball announced Ureña’s suspension will begin today, barring an appeal. The Marlins pitcher was also handed an undisclosed fine. Braves first base coach Eric Young received a one-game suspension for his role during the altercation.

Since Ureña is a starting pitcher, he’ll miss just one start.

In the finale of the fourgame series at Atlanta, tempers flared on the first pitch in the bottom of the first inning. Acuña Jr. — the Braves 20-year-old star rookie who had led off the previous three games with home runs — stepped to the plate against Ureña. The 26-year-old righthander unleashed a 97 mph fastball, drilling Acuña Jr. on his left arm.

According to ESPN Stats and Info, the pitch was in the 99th percentile of fastest pitches Ureña has thrown this season and the fastest pitch he’s ever tossed to open a game.

The rookie went down in pain as both benches cleared and moved toward the mound. While no fighting took place, heated jawing went back and forth. Ureña was soon ejected, forcing the Marlins to go to the bullpen for the entirety of the game. Miami dropped the contest 5-2, wrapping up a four-game sweep by Atlanta.

Acuña Jr. trotted out to left field to begin the second inning, but immediately left due to the injury.

“If you watch José pitch, pretty much every first pitch of every game is pretty much there,” Marlins manager Don Mattingly told reporters after the game. “We talked to José after the game and basically he was saying he knew [Acuña Jr.] had been swinging the bat good and was trying to get one close. He wanted to run it off in there and that was the purpose of the pitch.

“I talked to him before that, [saying] ‘This kid is swinging the bat good. We’ve got to figure out how to get him out’ and I’ve always said — I don’t want to see this kid get hit. He’s a great player and he’s going to be for a long time. He’s beat us up, but this is not the way we want to handle this situation. Obviously, this is not something we represent or believe in as an organization. I would never want that kid getting hit and causing that kind of problem.”

A four-year MLB veteran, Ureña is 3-12 with 4.74 ERA and 1.28 WHIP this season. The 26-year-old, who’s spent his entire career with Miami, is coming off a 14-win season on the mound. Ureña’s contract is under team control through 2021.

Earlier this season, Marlins starting pitcher Dan Straily was suspended five games for intentionally throwing at Giants catcher Buster Posey. Mattingly was also suspended as well.

Urena