NEW YORK (AP) — Miami Marlins pitcher Jose Urena has been suspended six games and fined an undisclosed amount for intentionally hitting Ronald Acuna Jr. of the Atlanta Braves with a pitch.Major League Baseball announced the penalties Thursday, a day after Urena hit Acuna on the left arm with his first pitch in the Marlins' 5-2 loss in Atlanta. The 20-year-old Acuna went into the game having homered in five straight games, including four homers in the three games against Miami — three of them leading off.The 25-year-old Urena, from the Dominican Republic, is 3-12 with a 4.74 ERA in 24 starts. Unless appealed, the suspension is scheduled to begin Friday at Washington.Also, Braves first base coach Eric Young was suspended one game and fined.Acuna was back in the lineup for the Braves on Thursday night against Colorado. The training staff signed off on Acuna returning after a CT scan on his elbow was normal. X-rays also were negative.

NEW YORK (AP) — Aaron Judge saw Jose Urena's plunking of Ronald Acuna Jr. before the Yankees played a day game Thursday, and he felt Acuna's pain. The reigning AL home run leader knows that with so many big flies comes a risk that some disgruntled pitcher may try burying a fastball in your ribs."Oh yeah, it's happened before," New York's star slugger said.Throwing at a batter for hitting home runs? That's what many think Urena did, including Mets broadcaster and former big league first baseman Keith Hernandez, who defended Urena's plunking of Atlanta's breakout rookie. Mostly, though, players and coaches around the game seem to want nothing to do with this murky unwritten rule.The Miami right-hander sparked a benches-clearing fracas in Atlanta when he drilled Acuna in the elbow with the first pitch of a game Wednesday. Acuna had homered leading off three consecutive games and gone deep four times in the first three games of the series against the Marlins.Acuna had a CT scan that revealed... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — Aaron Judge saw Jose Urena's plunking of Ronald Acuna Jr. before the Yankees played a day game Thursday, and he felt Acuna's pain. The reigning AL home run leader knows that with so many big flies comes a risk that some disgruntled pitcher may try burying a fastball in your ribs."Oh yeah, it's happened before," New York's star slugger said.Throwing at a batter for hitting home runs? That's what many think Urena did, including Mets broadcaster and former big league first baseman Keith Hernandez, who defended Urena's plunking of Atlanta's breakout rookie. Mostly, though, players and coaches around the game seem to want nothing to do with this murky unwritten rule.The Miami right-hander sparked a benches-clearing fracas in Atlanta when he drilled Acuna in the elbow with the first pitch of a game Wednesday. Acuna had homered leading off three consecutive games and gone deep four times in the first three games of the series against the Marlins.Acuna had a CT scan that revealed... [More]

ATLANTA (AP) — Rookie star Ronald Acuna Jr. is back in the lineup for the Atlanta Braves, hitting leadoff one day after being plunked on the left arm by Miami's Jose Urena.Acuna sent a text to Brian Snitker before the Braves manager even got to SunTrust Park, saying he felt good and was ready to go Thursday night in the opener of a four-game series against the Colorado Rockies.The training staff signed off on Acuna returning to lineup after a CT scan on his elbow was normal. X-rays also were negative.Urena was ejected from Wednesday's game after hitting Acuna on the first pitch in what the Braves said was an intentional act . The Marlins pitcher denied any wrongdoing and said he was merely trying to throw inside.Acuna left the game in top of the second.Snitker says he has no doubt that Urena tried to hit Acuna. The 20-year-old went into the game having homered in five straight games, including four homers in the three games against Miami — three of them leading off.___Follow Paul Newberry on Twitter at www.twitter.com/pnewberry1963 . His work can be found at https://apnews.com/search/paul%20newberry___For more AP baseball coverage: https://apnews.com/tag/MLBbaseball

ATLANTA (AP) — Braves rookie star Ronald Acuna Jr. is day to day after being plunked on the left arm by Miami's Jose Urena.The team announced Thursday that a CT scan on Acuna's elbow was normal. X-rays also were negative.Urena was ejected from Wednesday night's game after hitting Acuna on the first pitch in what the Braves said was an intentional act . The Marlins pitcher denied any wrongdoing and said he was merely trying to throw inside. Acuna left the game in top of the second.The 20-year-old went into the game having homered in five straight games, including four homers in the three games against Miami — three of them leading off.Braves manager Brian Snitker also was ejected for leading his team onto the field to confront Urena. No punches were thrown, and the Braves went on to a 5-2 victory that maintained their two-game lead in the NL East.Atlanta hosts Colorado on Thursday night.___Follow Paul Newberry on Twitter at www.twitter.com/pnewberry1963 . His work can be found at https://apnews.com/search/paul%20newberry___For more AP baseball coverage: https://apnews.com/tag/MLBbaseball

A look at what's happening around the majors today:HOT TEMPERSSuspensions could be on deck after Wednesday night's melee between the Braves and Marlins. Ronald Acuna's chance to extend his home run streak was put on hold when Miami pitcher Jose Urena hit the rookie slugger in the left elbow with his first pitch, a 97 mph fastball that left Acuna in obvious pain. The benches and bullpens for both teams emptied twice. Urena and Atlanta manager Brian Snitker were ejected, and Snitker had angry words for the pitcher. The 20-year-old Acuna exited in the second inning — the Braves said X-rays were negative and results of further tests would be announced Thursday. Atlanta won 5-2 to complete a four-game sweep.REDBIRDS SOARINGMarcell Ozuna and the Cardinals try to extend their season-best winning streak to nine games when they go for a four-game sweep of fading Washington. St. Louis, which is 18-9 since the All-Star break, hopes to have Matt Carpenter back in the lineup. On a major tear at the... [More]

ATLANTA (AP) — Slugging rookie Ronald Acuna Jr. was hit by a pitch before he could take the Marlins deep again, but Dansby Swanson filled the power void for Atlanta, hitting a two-run homer that led the Braves to a 5-2 win over Miami on Wednesday night.Acuna, who had hit leadoff homers in the last three games and homered in five straight overall, didn't get a chance to extend the streak. Jose Urena plunked him on the left elbow with a fastball on his first pitch of the day, triggering a melee. Benches and bullpens for both teams emptied onto the field twice after the pitch. No punches were thrown. Urena and Braves manager Brian Snitker were ejected.Acuna instead became the 11th batter to be hit by a pitch from Urena this season, tied for the most in the National League. Trainer George Poulis hovered over Acuna, who sat on the ground near the batter's box while players swarmed near the mound. Acuna left the game in the second inning. He took his position in left field and then walked off... [More]

A look at what's happening around the majors Thursday:HOT TEMPERSSuspensions could be on deck after Wednesday night's melee between the Braves and Marlins. Ronald Acuna's chance to extend his home run streak was put on hold when Miami pitcher Jose Urena hit the rookie slugger in the left elbow with his first pitch, a 97 mph fastball that left Acuna in obvious pain. The benches and bullpens for both teams emptied twice. Urena and Atlanta manager Brian Snitker were ejected, and Snitker had angry words for the pitcher. The 20-year-old Acuna exited in the second inning — the Braves said X-rays were negative and results of further tests would be announced Thursday. Atlanta won 5-2 to complete a four-game sweep.REDBIRDS SOARINGMarcell Ozuna and the Cardinals try to extend their season-best winning streak to nine games when they go for a four-game sweep of fading Washington. St. Louis, which is 18-9 since the All-Star break, hopes to have Matt Carpenter back in the lineup. On a major tear at the... [More]

ATLANTA (AP) — Slugging rookie Ronald Acuna Jr. was hit by a pitch before he could take the Marlins deep again, but Dansby Swanson filled the power void for Atlanta, hitting a two-run homer that led the Braves to a 5-2 win over Miami on Wednesday night.Acuna, who had hit leadoff homers in the last three games and homered in five straight overall, didn't get a chance to extend the streak. Jose Urena plunked him on the left elbow with a fastball on his first pitch of the day, triggering a melee. Benches and bullpens for both teams emptied onto the field twice after the pitch. No punches were thrown. Urena and Braves manager Brian Snitker were ejected.Acuna instead became the 11th batter to be hit by a pitch from Urena this season, tied for the most in the National League. Trainer George Poulis hovered over Acuna, who sat on the ground near the batter's box while players swarmed near the mound. Acuna left the game in the second inning. He took his position in left field and then walked off... [More]

ATLANTA (AP) — Ronald Acuna's chance to extend his three-game streak of leadoff homers was put on hold when the Marlins' Jose Urena hit him with his first pitch on Wednesday night, triggering a melee that led to benches and bullpens for Atlanta and Miami emptying twice.Urena and Braves manager Brian Snitker were ejected. Snitker had angry words for the pitcher as he led the first exodus from Atlanta's dugout toward the mound.Urena's fastball hit Acuna's left elbow, leaving Acuna in obvious pain. Trainer George Poulis hovered over Acuna, who sat on the ground near the batter's box while players swarmed near the mound.The Braves said X-rays on the elbow were negative and results of further tests would be announced on Thursday.The Braves won the game 5-2 to complete a four-game sweep.Snitker believed Urena intended to hit Acuna with the pitch."I'll be honest with you. I'm not sure I've ever felt like that in a baseball uniform," Snitker said. "That was just my emotion. That kid didn't deserve... [More]

ATLANTA (AP) — Slugging rookie Ronald Acuna Jr. was hit by a pitch before he could take the Marlins deep again, but Dansby Swanson filled the power void for Atlanta, hitting a two-run homer that led the Braves to a 5-2 win over Miami on Wednesday night.Acuna, who had hit leadoff homers in the last three games and homered in five straight overall, didn't get a chance to extend the streak. Jose Urena plunked him on the left elbow with a fastball on his first pitch of the day, triggering a melee. Benches and bullpens for both teams emptied onto the field twice after the pitch. No punches were thrown. Urena and Braves manager Brian Snitker were ejected.Acuna instead became the 11th batter to be hit by a pitch from Urena this season, tied for the most in the National League. Trainer George Poulis hovered over Acuna, who sat on the ground near the batter's box while players swarmed near the mound. Acuna left the game in the second inning. He took his position in left field and then walked off... [More]

ATLANTA (AP) — Slugging rookie Ronald Acuna Jr. was hit by a pitch before he could take the Marlins deep again, but Dansby Swanson filled the power void for Atlanta, hitting a two-run homer that led the Braves to a 5-2 win over Miami on Wednesday night.Acuna, who had hit leadoff homers in the last three games and homered in five straight overall, didn't get a chance to extend the streak. Jose Urena plunked him on the left elbow with a fastball on his first pitch of the day, triggering a melee. Benches and bullpens for both teams emptied onto the field twice after the pitch. No punches were thrown. Urena and Braves manager Brian Snitker were ejected.Acuna instead became the 11th batter to be hit by a pitch from Urena this season, tied for the most in the National League. Trainer George Poulis hovered over Acuna, who sat on the ground near the batter's box while players swarmed near the mound. Acuna left the game in the second inning. He took his position in left field and then walked off... [More]

ATLANTA (AP) — Ronald Acuna's chance to extend his three-game streak of leadoff homers was put on hold when the Marlins' Jose Urena hit him with his first pitch on Wednesday night, triggering a melee that led to benches and bullpens for Atlanta and Miami emptying twice.Urena and Braves manager Brian Snitker were ejected. Snitker had angry words for the pitcher as he led the first exodus from Atlanta's dugout toward the mound.Urena's fastball hit Acuna's left elbow, leaving Acuna in obvious pain. Trainer George Poulis hovered over Acuna, who sat on the ground near the batter's box while players swarmed near the mound.Order appeared to be restored until Acuna walked near the mound on his path to first base, took off a shin guard and tossed it to the edge of the mound. That led to players again spilling out of both dugouts and bullpens. No punches were thrown.Snitker was ejected by third-base umpire Paul Nauert, the crew chief. After the melee calmed down, the umpires huddled and then home... [More]

ATLANTA (AP) — Ronald Acuna Jr.'s streak of leadoff homers in three straight games ended when the Marlins' Jose Urena hit him with his first pitch on Wednesday night, triggering a melee that led to benches and bullpens for Atlanta and Miami emptying twice.Urena and Braves manager Brian Snitker were ejected. Snitker had angry words for the pitcher as he led the first exodus from Atlanta's dugout toward the mound.Urena's fastball hit Acuna's left elbow, leaving Acuna in obvious pain. Trainer George Poulis hovered over Acuna, who sat on the ground near the batter's box while players swarmed near the mound.Order appeared to be restored until Acuna walked near the mound on his path to first base, took off a shin guard and tossed it to the edge of the mound. That led to players again spilling out of both dugouts and bullpens. No punches were thrown.Snitker was ejected by third-base umpire Paul Nauert, the crew chief. After the melee calmed down, the umpires huddled and then home plate umpire... [More]

ATLANTA (AP) — Ronald Acuna Jr.'s streak of leadoff homers in three straight games ended when the Marlins' Jose Urena hit him with his first pitch, triggering a melee that led to benches and bullpens for Atlanta and Miami emptying twice.Urena and Braves manager Brian Snitker were ejected. Snitker had angry words for the pitcher as he led the first exodus from Atlanta's dugout toward the mound.Urena's fastball hit Acuna's left elbow, leaving Acuna in obvious pain. Trainer George Poulis hovered over Acuna, who sat on the ground near the batter's box while players swarmed near the mound.Order appeared to be restored until Acuna walked near the mound on his path to first base, took off a protective wrap and tossed it toward the mound. That led to players again spilling out of both dugouts and bullpens. No punches were thrown.Acuna remained in the game to run the bases but left the game in the top of the second, walking off the field after taking his position in left field. There was no immediate word on his possible injury.Eileser Hernandez replaced Urena.___More AP baseball: https://apnews.com/tag/MLBbaseball and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

A look at what's happening around the majors today:ACUNA AGAIN!Atlanta rookie Ronald Acuna Jr. has homered five games in a row — at 20, he's the youngest major leaguer to do that. He's also hit leadoff home runs in three straight, connecting the last two days on the first pitch Miami threw.Acuna later added his 19th homer with a three-run drive in the seventh inning Tuesday night.Brady Anderson was last player with so much leadoff success, homering four straight times to start games for Baltimore in 1996.Acuna has matched the Atlanta record for consecutive games with a home run set by Brian McCann in 2006. Acuna will try to keep the streaks going when the Braves face Jose Urena and the Marlins at SunTrust Park.SKIDDINGMinus MVP Jose Altuve, the AL West-leading Astros are struggling. They've matched a season high with five straight losses, have dropped nine in a row at home, and their lead in the AL West is down to just a game over surging Oakland. Houston will try to reverse the slides... [More]

ATLANTA (AP) — Ronald Acuna Jr. became the youngest player in major league history to homer in five straight games, hitting a leadoff shot on the first pitch and later adding a three-run drive to help the surging Atlanta Braves beat the Miami Marlins 10-6 on Tuesday night.The 20-year-old Acuna homered on Miami's first pitch for the second straight night and became the first player to hit a leadoff homer in three consecutive games since Baltimore's Brady Anderson went deep in four straight in 1996. On Monday, he became the fourth player in major league history to hit leadoff homers in both games of a doubleheader.Acuna connected in the first off Trevor Richards and homered to right-center, his 19th of the year, off Adam Conley (3-3) to give the Braves a 10-6 lead in the seventh.Freddie Freeman hit his 20th homer to tie it in the sixth, and Dansby Swanson had a tiebreaking RBI single in the seventh as the NL East-leading Braves won for the 13th time in 17 games.Acuna, who has homered in seven... [More]

ATLANTA (AP) — Ronald Acuna Jr. became the youngest player in major league history to homer in five straight games, hitting a leadoff shot on the first pitch and later adding a three-run drive to help the surging Atlanta Braves beat the Miami Marlins 10-6 on Tuesday night.The 20-year-old Acuna homered on Miami's first pitch for the second straight night and became the first player to hit a leadoff homer in three consecutive games since Baltimore's Brady Anderson went deep in four straight in 1996. On Monday, he became the fourth player in major league history to hit leadoff homers in both games of a doubleheader.Acuna connected in the first off Trevor Richards and homered to right-center, his 19th of the year, off Adam Conley (3-3) to give the Braves a 10-6 lead in the seventh.Freddie Freeman hit his 20th homer to tie it in the sixth, and Dansby Swanson had a tiebreaking RBI single in the seventh as the NL East-leading Braves won for the 13th time in 17 games.Acuna, who has homered in seven... [More]

A look at what's happening around the majors Wednesday:ACUNA AGAIN!Atlanta rookie Ronald Acuna Jr. has homered five games in a row — at 20, he's the youngest major leaguer to do that. He's also hit leadoff home runs in three straight, connecting the last two days on the first pitch Miami threw.Acuna later added his 19th homer with a three-run drive in the seventh inning Tuesday night.Brady Anderson was last player with so much leadoff success, homering four straight times to start games for Baltimore in 1996.Acuna has matched the Atlanta record for consecutive games with a home run set by Brian McCann in 2006. Acuna will try to keep the streaks going when the Braves face Jose Urena and the Marlins at SunTrust Park.SKIDDINGMinus MVP Jose Altuve, the AL West-leading Astros are struggling. They've matched a season high with five straight losses and have dropped nine in a row at home. Houston will try to reverse the slides when Gerrit Cole (10-5, 2.75 ERA) starts vs. Colorado lefty Tyler Anderson... [More]

A look at what's happening around the majors Wednesday:ACUNA AGAIN!Atlanta rookie Ronald Acuna Jr. has homered five games in a row — at 20, he's the youngest major leaguer to do that. He's also hit leadoff home runs in three straight, connecting the last two days on the first pitch Miami threw.Acuna later added his 19th homer with a three-run drive in the seventh inning Tuesday night.Brady Anderson was last player with so much leadoff success, homering four straight times to start games for Baltimore in 1996.Acuna has matched the Atlanta record for consecutive games with a home run set by Brian McCann in 2006. Acuna will try to keep the streaks going when the Braves face Jose Urena and the Marlins at SunTrust Park.GETTING CLOSEThe Cubs will check on Yu Darvish and if he's OK, the right-hander could go on a minor league rehab assignment. Darvish threw about 55 pitches in a simulated game Tuesday.Sidelined because of triceps and elbow injuries, Darvish has not pitched since he won at Cincinnati... [More]