Braves, Pirates benches clear after Ronald Acuña Jr., Johan Oviedo get heated

Ronald Acuña Jr. might lead MLB in near hit-by-pitches. That, of course, is an unofficial and arbitrary stat, but the Atlanta Braves right fielder and leading NL MVP candidate this season feels like he gets an inordinate amount of pitches thrown that force him to back off the plate.

And as you'd imagine, he doesn't take kindly to it. Pittsburgh Pirates starter Johan Oviedo figured that out quickly on Saturday night, but he wasn't about to back down either.

In the first Braves at-bat of the game in the bottom of the first, Oviedo sent the fourth pitch of Acuña's plate appearance way inside with a 95 mph fastball. That backed Acuña off and, though he appeared measured, he jawed something at the Pirates pitcher. That set Oviedo off as he began marching toward home plate.

The umps and players interfered before any physical alteraction really transpired, but it was enough of a kerfuffle that the benches cleared, including the customary bullpen clearing and trot through the outfield.

Braves, Pirates benches clear after inside pitch on Ronald Acuña Jr.

Obviously, everyone got settled down after this with no repercussions for anyone involved. As for the rest of the at-bat, Acuña ended up walking after that inside pitch made the count 3-1. The Braves, however, were unable to capitalize.

On the one hand, you understand the frustration for Acuña. He's been thrown at or around what feels like a non-coincidental number of times while he's helping the Braves on another World Series push and is moving toward an MVP win individually. The last thing he needs is to take a 95 mph heater to his body that could cause an injury.

However, the other part of the equation is that Pirates fans have to like the fire from Oviedo, especially not backing down from a bonafide superstar in that spot. Moreover, the pitch did not appear intentionally thrown at Acuña, so he had a right to stand his ground.

Given how heated things got, though, both teams are lucky this didn't escalate any further than a few "hold me backs" and people getting off of their seats in the dugouts.