Braves: 3 ways to get revenge on Marlins for Ronald Acuña Jr. HBP
By John Buhler
The Atlanta Braves have a few ways to get revenge on the Miami Marlins for hitting Ronald Acuña Jr. once again heading into the All-Star Break.
Atlanta Braves star Ronald Acuña Jr. has been hit for the seventh time by Miami Marlins pitching.
This has become an ever-present storyline every time the Braves take on the Marlins. Acuña may rub some players on the Marlins the wrong way, but him getting plunked by The Fish is starting to get old. It has made every game between these two divisional rivals incredibly tense the last few years. What should the Braves do on Saturday and Sunday after Acuña was hit yet again by them?
Here are three ways the Braves can get revenge on the Marlins for plunking Acuña in this series.
How the Braves get revenge on Marlins after latest Ronald Acuña Jr. HBP
3. Fight fire with fire and use baseball’s unwritten rules to your advantage
Since neither of these teams is very good, it would not be shocking to see the Braves fight with fire and use the unwritten rules of baseball to their advantage. I am not advocating for Braves pitchers to go out and plunk Marlins hitters, but if Atlanta manager Brian Snitker is not going to stick up for Acuña, then maybe his teammates will do what they need to do to have his back.
Though the Braves should not have starting pitchers like Max Fried go all Pablo Lopez on an opposing hitter and get himself ejected from the game after the first pitch, maybe a struggling pitcher in Atlanta’s less-than-stellar bullpen can get an early start on his All-Star break vacation with one perfectly placed heater outside of the zone? Be careful with who you do decide to plunk.
Besides beaning players on the Marlins, there are other ways the Braves can send their message. Give Acuña or any slugger at the plate the green light on 3-0 when the Braves are up big. Crushing a ball deep into the loanDepot Park stands while taking one’s time to round the bases sends quite the message. If the Braves feel like being extra petty, then they may exercise their right to do so.
Then again, these sorts of actions are not conducive to playing baseball “The Braves Way”.