Wren issues apology for Twitter spat with Nats

WASHINGTON -- As the Braves prepared for Wednesday's series finale against the Nationals, they did not anticipate any lingering effects from the benches-clearing incident that was sparked after Julio Teheran hit Bryce Harper with a first-pitch fastball in the fifth inning Tuesday.

After the players exchanged nothing more than words, the Braves and Nationals exchanged tweets from their official accounts that drew widespread attention. The Braves started the Twitter spat by tweeting, "Clown move bro," in reference to Harper, who once famously replied to a reporter's question by saying, "That's a clown question, bro."

The Nationals responded by tweeting, "Which part, giving up the home run, or drilling the 20-year-old on the first pitch his next time up?"

While that was the end of the brief spat, Braves general manager Frank Wren issued an apology on his team's behalf early Wednesday evening.

"I think it was simply an inappropriate attempt at humor from our social media department," Wren said. "It doesn't reflect how we feel or how we want to do business or who we are. You shouldn't be directing anything unless it's positive or uplifting to another team or an opponent. I think that is plain and simple."

Another lingering social media effect from the incident was the circulation of what appeared to be a photoshopped image of Brian McCann signaling for a pitch to Harper by putting simply his middle finger down.

McCann said late Tuesday night and again on Wednesday that the image had been altered.

"You can look at the video," McCann confidently said.