The games are back and the ball is flying all over the ball parks and one of the hottest bats in the majors was halted on Sunday night as the Braves Ronald Acuna Jr. suffered an injury to his midsection, while diving back to first after a pickoff attempt. He was removed from the game after the inning and a team MRI revealed just an abdominal strain as the outfielder is day-to-day.
Acuna Jr opened the season 2 for 4, and after going hitless the next two games, he went on a torrid pace, hitting safely in 11 of his next 12 games, batting .500, while also sprinkling in a 9-game hitting streak that ended on April 17th. On Sunday the 18th, he went 0 for 2, before being removed after the injury.
The four year vet, came into the 2021 season looking to put up big numbers again as he did in 2019 when he batted .280, with 22 doubles, 41 home runs, and 101 RBIs. As we all know, the 2020 season started late due to the Covid pandemic and even though Acuna Jr only appeared in 46 games, he still launched 14 home runs in 160 at bats.
The La Guaira, Venezuela native, leads the majors with 21 runs scored, 26 hits, seven home runs and a .419 batting average through 16 games.
Once Acuna Jr returns to the field, it will be interesting to see how much the injury will affect his swing and his overall approach to the game. Hopefully it doesn’t limit him much and he looks to keep his current pace of smashing the ball around the park.
