A night after Atlanta Braves closer plunked Juan Soto in the ninth inning, the Washington Nationals retaliated. Nationals left-handed pitcher Sean Nolin hit Freddie Freeman in the bottom of the first.
Freeman was just the third batter Nolin faced. It was evidently clear Nolin set out to get some payback. He missed on his first attempt, throwing well behind Freeman. But he got him the second time around.
Nolin was ejected from the game after a mere 1/3 inning pitched. Patrick Murphy replaced him on the mound.
Meanwhile, Soto extended an olive branch with a great sign of sportsmanship, tracking down and hugging Freeman as a sign of respect. Freeman, in turn, walked over the Nationals dugout to talk it over with manager Dave Martinez.
It was a refreshing scene. Perhaps Soto was apologizing to Freeman and Freeman and Martinez reached an understanding? For what it’s worth, the beef wasn’t about Freeman or Nolin. Instead it was about the history between Soto and Smith.
Their beef started August 18 of last year. Smith took offense with Soto standing on the warning track instead of the on-deck circle as he eyeballed the closer’s delivery against Adam Eaton. When Soto got to the plate, he hammered a home run and stared at the ball then Smith.
The Braves closer was not happy about it and let Soto know about it.
Tuesday was the first non-pressure meeting between the two since. In the ninth with Atlanta up 8-5 with one out, Smith took the opportunity to retaliate a year later.
If the Nationals-Braves rivalry was intense enough. Juan Soto vs. Will Smith will seemingly be a storyline whenever the two teams meet each other.
