Urena drops appeal of 6-game suspension

MIAMI -- José Ureña is ready to turn the page, so rather than prolong the process, the Marlins right-hander has dropped his appeal and is currently serving his six-game suspension for hitting Ronald Acuña Jr. with a pitch on Aug. 15 at Atlanta.
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.
"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."
The Marlins open a four-game series with the Braves in Miami on Thursday, and it was already determined by the organization that Urena wouldn't start any of those games. With that being the case, it made sense for him to serve the six games.
Urena is scheduled to be back in the rotation Tuesday in Boston.
MLB levied its suspension of Urena, which included an undisclosed fine, on Thursday. Urena appealed and pitched on Sunday at Washington, logging the first complete game of his career and the first by a Marlins starter this year in a 12-1 win.

Urena found himself at the center of controversy in the first inning at Atlanta, when his first pitch of the night struck Acuna on the left elbow. Benches cleared and Urena was ejected.
MLB suspended Urena, claiming he had intent to hit Acuna. Urena has consistently denied that.
"I know this doesn't change my innocence," Urena said. "I will keep doing my thing, going out there and trying to play my game."
With Urena out of the rotation for a week, rookie Elieser Hernández is taking his place. The 23-year-old will make his sixth big league start, and 27th appearance on Thursday.
"I think he does profile as a starter, and he has had a couple of starts," Mattingly said. "We're seeing a whole a season for him under his belt. He's a guy who is going to continue to learn and continue to develop. It will be good to have him go out there and make a start. There's a lot of things we like about Elieser. I'm looking forward to seeing him pitch."
Worth noting
Right-hander Kyle Barraclough, who has been on the 10-day disabled list since Aug. 10 with lower back tightness, threw a 13-pitch simulated game on Wednesday afternoon. If he responds favorably Thursday, he could be reinstated any day.
"I think that's the best 'Claw' has looked, as far as his command, and looking sharp," Mattingly said. "I think he's feeling good. If he bounces back from this one, I think we'll expect to see him quickly."
"We're going to see how it feels tomorrow and go from there," said Barraclough, who has thrown three simulated games in the past week. "Hopefully, the next couple of days."