Kevin Gausman ejected for intentionally throwing at José Ureña

Braves right-hander Kevin Gausman recorded just five outs on Friday night, and it’s not because the anemic Marlins lineup got to him.

Rather than focusing on retiring José Ureña to escape a second-inning jam, Gausman figured it would be the appropriate time to seek retaliation for the hit-by-pitch heard ‘round the baseball world last August. Home plate umpire Jeff Nelson promptly ejected him for the errant 97 mile-per-hour fastball:

Some additional angles of it...

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Touki Toussaint entered in relief and finished the plate appearance with a walk, then struck out Curtis Granderson to strand the bases loaded.

Gausman is no stranger to controversial hit-by-pitches. Similar to his 2017 ejection as a member of the Orioles, he emphatically denied that the beanball was done with intent. Even so, he could be facing discipline from Major League Baseball.

How’d we get here? Well, star outfielder Ronald Acuña Jr.—in the midst of an amazing hot streak—was Ureña’s target on August 15, 2018. Ureña plunked him in the hip with a fastball on the very first pitch of his outing. He was promptly ejected and widely reprimanded for the cowardly act, including by Fish Stripes. Friday marked the first regular season meeting between Ureña and the Braves since then.

Acuña matched up with Ureña three times in this game. No hijinks or suspicious pitch locations (strikeout swinging, single, ground out).

The Marlins and Braves continue their series through Sunday. For everybody’s sake, hopefully they can squash the tension and turn the attention back to baseball.