Ronald Acuña Jr. reaches three times, steals base

Acuña left Tuesday’s game and was held out of Wednesday’s game because of a shin contusion.

Atlanta manager Walt Weiss told reporters Acuña is available off the bench, if needed, but they want to give him an extra day to recover after fouling a ball off his left shin during Tuesday’s game. It’ll be Brewer Hicklen taking over in right field in his place on Wednesday evening. The positive news here is that X-rays and a CT scan came back negative for any fractures and he should be ready for the outset of the postseason.

Acuña is officially day-to-day after preliminary X-rays came back negative for any fractures. It’s a massive relief for the postseason-bound Braves after one of their franchise cornerstones fouled a ball off his lower left leg during the third inning of Tuesday’s series opener against Cincinnati. Early indications are that Acuña managed to avoid serious injury, but he might need a couple days off to rest and recover before returning to Atlanta’s lineup.

Acuña departed immediately after fouling a ball off his lower left leg in the third inning. The positive news is that he was able to walk off the field without any assistance. He finished 0-for-1 at the dish. It looks like his exit was precautionary, but it’s obviously a concerning development for the playoff-bound Braves as they play out their final handful of regular-season contests. There should be an additional update on his status shortly.

Acuña’s home run was his 20th of the season. He hit a grand slam off Bryan Abreu in the seventh inning. Acuña has four home runs and 10 RBI over his last seven games. He’s hitting .259 with an .815 OPS and 55 RBI this year.

Acuña helped Atlanta secure a playoff spot for the eighth time in the last nine years when he blasted a no-doubter to left field off Astros workhorse reliever AJ Blubaugh in the seventh inning. It was his sixth round-tripper in 16 games since the outset of September. The 28-year-old fantasy superstar is just one home run shy of posting a 20-homer, 20-steal campaign for the first time since his historic 41-homer, 73-steal effort back in 2023. He may never reach those lofty heights again, but he’s proven he can be an impactful power/speed combo threat, even if he doesn’t come close to playing a full season ever again.

Down big by the fifth inning, the Braves did their best to get back into this game late but never got particularly close. Acuña Jr. did his best to help with that pursuit, first scorching a double and coming around to score in the sixth and then singling with one out in the eighth. It’s been an uncharacteristically slow – relative to his lofty standards – season at the plate for him with just 18 home runs, 20 stolen bases, and a .798 OPS in 100 games that’s including multiple trips to the injured list with two left hamstring strains.

Acuña’s home run was his 17th of the season. He hit a solo shot off Phillies reliever Brooks Raley in the fourth inning. Acuña has four home runs in 11 games in September so far. He’s hitting .255 with a .797 OPS and 47 RBI this year.

Acuña got the Braves on the board with a sacrifice fly in the sixth inning. The Braves then entered the eighth inning staring at a three-run deficit, but they got something going against Alex McFarlane as Mike Yastrzemski smacked a one-out single and Ozzie Albies followed with a double. That’s when the superstar outfielder strolled to the dish and clobbered a 414-foot (105.9-mph EV) three-run shot to tie things at 4-4. He finished the day 2-for-3 and is now hitting .255/.351/.446 with 16 homers, 45 RBI and 20 stolen bases in 396 plate appearances on the season.

Acuña knocked a base hit in the first inning, then provided the only run the team could score over six innings against Zack Wheeler, taking him deep for a solo homer in the third inning. It was a massive, 450-foot moonshot for his 15th of the season. The 28-year-old outfielder is hitting .251/.349/.432 with 51 runs scored, 41 RBI, and 20 steals across 392 plate appearances.