Ronald Acuña Jr. not in Braves’ lineup on Thursday

Acuña had previously hit only first and second this season. Ozzie Albies, who is hitting .230/.286/.374 in 398 plate appearances since May 10, is batting second tonight.

Acuña is still in a little 2-for-24 slump in his last six games, but some good news is that he’s starting to run again. He didn’t attempt a steal in his first 18 games back from his latest hamstring injury, but he’s 2-for-3 in his last eight games even while struggling to reach base. He’s stolen 17 bases in 79 games on the season.

Yastrzemski was 1-for-13 in his previous five games, so the Braves had him batting ninth today for the first time since June 23. Reaching four times might get him bumped back up to seventh on Saturday.

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.

Yastrzemski did his damage off of Jake Irvin in the fifth inning, with his 413-foot (104.7-mph EV) two-run blast tying the score at three runs apiece. It has been a rough season overall at the plate for the 35-year-old outfielder, slashing just .226/.313/.363 to go along with seven long balls and 30 RBI in 281 plate appearances.

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.