Today’s Three Things: Braves Lose Ronald Acuña Jr to Injury in Series Win
The Atlanta Braves still haven't lost a series on the season, but they might have lost a key contributor
The Atlanta Braves took down the Colorado Rockies 9-1 in Denver’s Coors Field on Saturday night.
Here is Today’s Three Things from the contest.
The Turning Point
This game never really felt out of hand, but I’m going to go with the top of the fourth inning.
The Braves were holding a 3-0 lead, initially built off the back of opener Brennan Bernadino and extended against Chase Dollander in the third.
Austin Riley opened the inning with a walk, the continuation of a strong series at elevation for the slugger. He then stole second base with one out and advanced to third on Jorge Mateo’s infield single, one where he beat out the throw from shortstop Ezequiel Tovar.
And then the Braves got into their bag. With Eli White coming to bat after entering the game in right field (more on that in a minute), manager Walt Weiss called for a bunt, and not only did White successfully get on base, but Riley was running on contact and scored ahead of the attempt at home from first baseman TJ Rumfield.
The Braves kept adding on, with Drake Baldwin doubling in Mateo and then Ozzie hitting a sacrifice fly to deep left field to bring in White for a three-run inning and an unassailable five-run lead.
On a larger note, this was the Braves offense we’ve been envisioning. Baldwin’s two-run homer in the first inning staked the Braves to a two-run lead before an out was recorded, with Austin Riley adding a two-run homer in the fifth inning and Matt Olson getting an insurance solo shot in the 9th inning. For the contest, Atlanta finished with 12 hits, six of them for extra bases, and went 5-for-12 with runners in scoring position.
Today’s Player of the Game
By a 62% vote of the postgame show, it’s Chris Sale.
Atlanta’s veteran ace was magnificent tonight, going seven strong innings with just one run allowed on three hits and three walks. Sale’s eleven strikeouts were a season-high. The veteran picked up 20 whiffs, including six (on eight swings) on the changeup, an adjustment Baldwin made the third time through the order to keep Colorado’s hitters off balance. It’s safe to say that it worked; Sale ended up striking out seven of the nine hitters he faced for a third time in this one.
The lefthander’s ERA is now down to 2.14 on the season, a top-ten mark in baseball, and his six wins lead all of MLB.
What You’ll Be Talking About
The injury to Ronald Acuña Jr.
Atlanta’s rightfielder was removed from this game in the top of the second with what the team called “left hamstring tightness”. Ronald was attempting to beat out an infield grounder to second base, but made it only three or four steps out of the box before pulling up and limping the rest of the way to first base.
Manager Walt Weiss discussed the injury after the game, telling traveling media that the outfielder would be getting imaging either late tonight or tomorrow morning. His personal hope was that it was just some cramping, but that the team would hopefully know more after the imaging came back.
Looking for more discussion about this game?
Here’s tonight’s Postcast, with me and Locked On Braves host Jake Mastroianni, as we went live to break down the contest.
What’s Next for the Braves?
The Braves are in position for a series sweep. They’ll activate Spencer Strider (oblique) off the injured list for his season debut opposite lefty Kyle Freeland (1-2, 3.48) for a 3:10 first pitch.