Ronald Acuña Jr.’s explosive return continues with another multi-hit night in the Atlanta Braves 12-4 win over the Colorado Rockies. The 2023 National League MVP had his third-consecutive three-hit night. He came around to score twice along with an extra-base hit.
Acuña is on a four-game hitting streak overall and has had at least one extra-base his in three of those games. Two of them were home runs while the third was the double on Friday.
“He’s swinging really good,” manager Brian Snitker said. “He’s just putting a good part of the bat on the ball. He’s timed up really good…he’s been playing great.
We also finally got to see his speed on the basepaths in action. He stole his first base on the season with ease in the bottom of the fifth, running at a speed of 26.4 feet per second. He was in before his former teammate, Orlando Arcia, could even begin to bring down his glove arm to apply the tag.
He hadn’t been on any restrictions. He had just been cautious up until that point on when to pull the trigger on a stolen base attempt.
“He’s been smart about when to turn it on,” Snitker said.
If one thing has gone right for the Braves offensively this season, it has been the return of Acuña. He’s only one bat in the lineup. You need a string of guys getting it done to succeed, but he’s doing everything he can to do his part. He’s now batting .375 with a 1.125 OPS, six home runs and 11 RBIs in the 19 games he’s played in since his return.
He’s looking good and feeling good out there and you can tell how much he enjoys being physically well enough to be able to be his high-caliber self.
The Braves didn’t start off his return with a lot of winning, but those wins are starting to come. They’ve won three of their last four games with Acuña playing a key roll throughout.
