The Braves’ 8-1 victory was a little less sweet on Sunday after their superstar outfielder Ronald Acuña Jr. left the game in the first inning after he suffered a non-contact injury and will be placed on the 10-day injured list.
The Braves described it as left knee soreness, but the true extent of the damage won’t be known until Acuña undergoes an MRI back in Atlanta on Sunday night, according to MLB.com.
Acuña’s knee buckled when he took an extra step or two in his secondary lead off second base, and he immediately crumpled to the ground.
A trainer for the Braves attended to Acuña on the field for several moments before he eventually was able to limp off the field.
After the game, he told reporters that he was expecting to go on the IL and that he felt like he could miss the same amount of time — a month — as he did back in 2018, when Acuña was out for a month with a left ACL sprain.
“I got scared because I felt the pain in the beginning, but it’s been going away for a while,” Acuña said through an interpreter. “Hopefully, everything is going to go well.”
The Braves outfielder is the reigning NL MVP and has hit .250 with four home runs and 15 RBIs this season after setting career marks in 2023.
During his MVP campaign, Acuña hit a career-best .337 with 41 homers and 106 RBIs.
Sunday had been a pretty good day for the Braves, with starter Chris Sale allowing just one run and striking out eight in seven innings on the mound.
Jarred Kelenic, who replaced Acuña, went 3-for-4 on the afternoon.
