Ronald Acuña Jr. reaches three times, steals base

The 28-year-old superstar has really struggled since his return from the injured list in late July, slashing a woeful .188/.248/.366 with six homers, 13 RBI, three swipes and a 33/8 K/BB ratio over 121 plate appearances. A day off to clear his head against Dodgers’ right-hander Yoshinobu Yamamoto isn’t the worst idea in the world. Mike Yastremzki will start in his place in right field and bat seventh for the Braves.

Acuña’s home run was his 13th of the season. He hit a solo shot off Eduardo Rodriguez in the first inning. Acuña is 14-for-53 (.264) with five home runs and eight RBI in 13 games so far in August. He’s hitting .244 with a .791 OPS and 31 RBI.

Acuña cut into the Yankees’ lead in the eighth inning with a solo homer off Brent Headrick. It was his fifth home run in 12 games since returning from the injured list. The 28-year-old outfielder is up to 12 homers with 15 steals while hitting .247/.358/.444 across 288 plate appearances.

The 28-year-old superstar got the scoring started in the ballgame with a 390-foot (103.8-mph EV) two-run shot off of Janson Junk in the third inning that fell short of the outfield wall, but the Marlins’ outfielders collided and the ball got knocked out of the glove of Esteury Ruiz and bounced into the stands for a home run. He then cleared the fence with a 337-foot (97.3-mph EV) solo shot off of Cade Gibson in the eighth that made it a 9-2 ballgame. His bat appears to be heating up, which is terrifying news for the rest of the National League. On the season, he’s now slashing .244/.358/.436 to go with 11 homers, 27 RBI and 15 stolen bases (in 22 attempts) across 279 plate appearances.

Acuña’s home run was his ninth. He hit a solo home run in the first inning off Miles Mikolas. Acuña played just 10 games from the end of May to July 29 due to injury and hit .194 with no home runs and one RBI. Since then, he’s hit two home runs with four runs scored over his last three games. Acuña is hitting .240 with a .782 OPS and 24 RBI in 59 games this year.

The 28-year-old superstar crushed a 421-foot (104.9-mph EV) solo shot off of Jake Irvin in the fourth inning that increased the Braves’ advantage to 3-0. He also drew a walk in the sixth inning and raced home on a two-run single off the bat of Ozzie Albies. Acuña is now slashing .244/.365/.416 with eight homers, 23 RBI and 15 stolen bases (in 22 attempts) on the season.

Not only is Acuña Jr. at the top of the lineup, but he’s right back into the outfield, which is a great sign for his health. Drake Baldwin will DH this game and hit second, with Joey Bart starting behind the dish and hitting eighth.

The 28-year-old has missed about six weeks with his second hamstring injury of the season. Atlanta was cautious with their star outfielder to ensure that he may have fully put the soft tissue injuries behind him. Acuña Jr. should find himself back in the lineup on Monday against the Mets.

Acuña played the full game in right field during the front end of Saturday’s doubleheader for Gwinnett before sitting out the nightcap. He told reporters afterwards that he’s ready to go with all signs pointing to a return to Atlanta’s lineup for Monday’s series opener against the Mets in New York. It seems highly unlikely that he’ll join the Braves for their final game against the Orioles on Sunday, but stranger things have happened.

The thinking was that Friday’s game might be Acuña’s last before being activated from his hamstring strain, but it was rained out and will made up as part of a doubleheader on Saturday. Acuña could play in both games then before rejoining the Braves, and it that happens, he’ll likely get Sunday off before being activated Monday.