Ronald Acuna Jr. back in Braves’ lineup; Jose Urena banned 6 games

Rookie star Ronald Acuna Jr. was back in the lineup for the Atlanta Braves on Thursday, one day after being plunked in the left arm with a pitch that sparked a national debate about whether it’s ever acceptable to throw at a hitter intentionally.

Acuna said his elbow felt fine — less than 24 hours after he took a 97 mph fastball from Miami’s Jose Urena — and proclaimed himself ready to go in the opener of an important four-game series against the Colorado Rockies in Atlanta.

Acuna was batting leadoff and playing leftfield. Urena received a six-game suspension from Major League Baseball.

“Obviously, it was kind of a hard hit,” Acuna said through a translator after taking an early session of batting practice at SunTrust Park. “But I’m not feeling any pain and I feel good right now.”

As Acuna walked to the plate for his first at-bat against the Rockies — wearing a red protective pad on his left arm — the crowd at SunTrust Park gave the youngster a standing ovation. He playfully patted home-plate umpire Pat Hoberg, took a ball on the first pitch, and then lined a single up the middle.

Acuna stole second to give the Braves a shot at an early lead, but Nick Markakis grounded into an inning-ending double play.

The Braves breathed a big sigh of relief, knowing what a significant injury would have meant to the postseason chances. Atlanta held a two-game lead in the NL East, while the Rockies also are in playoff contention.

Acuna tried to stay in the game after being hit by Urena’s first pitch on Wednesday night, but he had to leave in the second inning. X-rays taken shortly afterward were negative, and the Braves also ordered a CT scan to make sure their 20-year-old phenom was OK. The scan came back normal.

With help from multilingual teammate Ender Inciarte, Acuna even crafted a text to Brian Snitker letting the Braves manager know he was ready to go. Snitker, who was ejected the previous night along with Urena for leading a charge from the Atlanta dugout, was clearly relieved.

One of baseball’s top prospects, Acuna has lived up to the hype since being called up by the Braves early in the season. In recent days, he’s been downright unstoppable with homers in five straight games — including leadoff shots in three straight games before he was struck by Urena.

The five-game homer streak remained intact under baseball rules because Acuna didn’t have an official at-bat in the finale of the series against the Marlins, which was won by the Braves to complete a four-game sweep. In a quirk of baseball scoring, the leadoff streak ended.

Acuna was trying to become the first Braves player in the modern era to homer in six straight games. The major league record is eight in a row, shared by Ken Griffey Jr. (1993), Don Mattingly (1987) and Dale Long (1956).

While Urena insisted he was merely trying to pitch inside to set up Acuna for an outside pitch, Snitker was livid about the incident. The manager said he had no doubt about the Miami right-hander’s intent: It was intentional.

“Absolutely,” Snitker said. “Just watching it, I can tell.”

It’s long been an unwritten rule in baseball that a hot hitter can expect to be brushed back. Former first baseman Keith Hernandez, now a Mets broadcaster, took it a step further by saying the Marlins had every right to bean Acuna under the circumstances.

“You’ve lost three games. He’s hit three homers. You’ve got to hit him,” Hernandez said during the Mets-Orioles game. “I’m sorry. People are not going to like that, but you’ve got to hit him. Knock him down [at least]. I mean, seriously knock him down if you don’t hit him.”

Joe Torre, MLB’s chief disciplinary officer, also handed Braves first base coach Eric Young a one-game suspension for his actions during the melee after both dugouts emptied. Young accepted the punishment and was sitting out Thursday night’s contest.

Puig also suspended

Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder Yasiel Puig has been suspended for two games and fined an undisclosed amount for fighting and inciting a bench-clearing incident against San Francisco.

Major League Baseball announced the sanctions two days after the Cuban player took a swing at Giants catcher Nick Hundley in the seventh inning of the Dodgers’ 2-1 home loss. Hundley also was fined.

Barring an appeal, Puig is scheduled to begin the suspension Friday at Seattle.

The fracas started when Puig swatted his bat in frustration after fouling off a pitch from Tony Watson, and Hundley said something to the slugger while still in his crouch. Puig turned around and walked toward Hundley, the catcher stood up, and they argued face to face before Puig shoved Hundley twice.

Cubs 1, Pirates 0: Jon Lester pitched six innings to win for the first time in just over a month and Ian Happ homered for visiting Chicago.

The Cubs (70-50) increased their lead in the NL Central to 3 1⁄2 games over idle Milwaukee. Pittsburgh (61-61) lost its fourth straight to fall to .500.

Lester (13-5) allowed five hits. Former Yankee Ivan Nova (7-7) took the loss.