Marlins Urena Drops Appeal, Will Serve Suspension

The Miami Marlins have announced starting pitcher Jose Urena has dropped his appeal of the six-game suspension he received last week by Major League Baseball.

The Miami Marlins have announced that starting pitcher Jose Urena has dropped his appeal of a six-game suspension handed down by Major League Baseball for intentionally hitting Atlanta Braves rookie outfielder Ronald Acuna.

This was just a formality of sorts. The 26-year-old pitcher wanted to get in another start, which was his best outing of the season in a dominant win over Washington last week before the Marlins faced the Braves.

Bad blood between the two clubs is bound to spill over as Acuna was hit with the first pitch of the game on Aug. 15 inciting a benches-clearing confrontation.

Urena was immediately tossed as was Braves manager Brian Snitker.

"Per Joe Frisaro of MLB.com, “Urena actually dropped the appeal before Tuesday’s 2-1 loss in 12 innings to the Yankees at Marlins Park. He made it public on Wednesday before Miami closed out its two-game Interleague Series with New York.”"

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Urena, known for his issues with control the past two seasons, has a 4-12 record this season but has pitched well for Miami. As Craig Mason of eagletribune.com wrote, the incident between the pitcher and hitter was another one of the many things Marlins fans might want to forget about this season.

"“The hardest pitch Urena had thrown all season, it was clearly intentional, and the ball made a gnarly noise as it hit off the 20-year-old’s uncovered elbow bone,” Mason said."

The season has not gone as expected for Urena, who was the Opening Day starter in Miami against the Chicago Cubs. He led the staff with 14 wins in 2017 after barely making the team and starting the season in the bullpen before being added to the rotation.

Miami opens a four-game series with Atlanta today at Marlins Park. Even if Urena had kept his appeal, the team had already determined he would not pitch in any game of the set. He is expected to take the mound again next Tuesday.

In addition to the suspension, Urena received an undisclosed fine by MLB.

"“It makes sense from our standpoint,” Marlins manager Don Mattingly said. “Obviously, Jose had to make his decision. I think he made a good decision, getting this thing on the back side of him, and working toward the rest of the year. He wasn’t going to participate in the series coming up, so there was no reason to prolong this.”"

Urena’s dominant showing in the 12-1 win over Washington was his first career complete game and the first by a Marlins pitcher this season.

The Miami Marlins have announced starting pitcher Jose Urena has dropped his appeal of the six-game suspension he received last week by Major League Baseball.

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