The Washington Nationals’ win over the Atlanta Braves on Wednesday night got a little chippy.
In the first inning, Sean Nolin threw a pitch behind Braves star Freddie Freeman, and then hit him on the very next throw, perceived retaliation for Atlanta closer Will Smith nailing Juan Soto on Tuesday.
Nolin was ejected. But in the seventh inning, Soto stepped to the plate with the game tied and belted a long home run to give the Nats the lead.
But after he crossed home plate, he aimed a blown kiss toward what many thought was the Braves’ bullpen. And that would make sense after what has gone down between the two NL East rivals.
But he denied it.
First, the homer:
.@JuanSoto25_ blasts one 462 feet for the lead. 😳 pic.twitter.com/QzUL2z6CTW
— MLB (@MLB) September 9, 2021
And the kiss:
Did Juan Soto blow a kiss to Will Smith in the Braves' bullpen? 🧐 pic.twitter.com/01ttPiKJGv
— Blake Finney (@FinneyBlake) September 9, 2021
Give me all of this pic.twitter.com/F2ZYbuQCLa
— Bobby Blanco (@Bobby_Blanco) September 9, 2021
He said it was aimed at fans, though:
Juan Soto says he blew a kiss to fans beyond the Braves' bullpen who were giving it to him all night. Hm.
— Jesse Dougherty (@dougherty_jesse) September 9, 2021
Juan Soto says the kiss he blew out to right-center was directed toward fans seated up there: "Just showing love to my fans in the stands, where they are over the bullpen. They were yelling at me the whole game, so I just showed a little love to them."
— Mark Zuckerman (@MarkZuckerman) September 9, 2021
Hm. OK!
