With Acuña Jr. back in the mix, the Braves are building momentum.

Since returning from his ACL injury, Ronald Acuña Jr. has been a breath of fresh air for an Atlanta Braves team that mostly struggled in his absence.

In 22 games since returning, the former NL MVP is batting .392 with seven home runs and 13 RBI, providing a critical spark plug to an offense that is still just 21st in MLB in runs per game.

But last night’s late-inning heroics came on the defensive side, robbing New York Mets slugger Pete Alonso of a potential go-ahead RBI double and putting his team in position to cap off a dramatic comeback.

Ronald Acuña Jr. makes the leaping catch at the wall and doubles off Juan Soto at first base! 😯

(via @MLB)pic.twitter.com/mAT7xkr8wq

— FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) June 18, 2025

After an embarrassing loss to the Colorado Rockies to close the weekend, Atlanta entered Tuesday night’s series opener against the Mets in desperate need of a win. But they entered the bottom of the eighth trailing, 4-1, staring down the barrel of another frustrating setback.

And then, suddenly, the offense woke up: The Braves scored three in the eighth to tie the game, and after Acuña Jr. saved the game in the top of the ninth to force extras, Austin Riley won it with a sac fly in the 10th.

Acuña Jr. isn’t just doing it with the bat, but is already credited with two defensive runs saved in right field.

Offensively, however, is where things get more impressive: Before last season’s injury, Acuña Jr. had just four home runs in 49 games, compared to the seven he’s already blasted in just 22 this season. Although he isn’t swiping as many bags (and for good reason given his history of knee troubles), we’re seeing the peak offensive version of Acuña Jr. since his return.

Firmly back in the mix, Acuña Jr. is the catalyst that can launch this Atlanta team to new heights. According to Fangraphs, he’s already worth 1.7 WAR in those 22 contests, which means if he had played at this level for all of Atlanta’s 71 games, he’d be the most valuable player in the National League with a mark well over 5.0.

Is comeback against the Mets too little, too late for the Braves in 2025?

The Braves are 12 games back in the NL East and have a steep uphill climb behind their powerhouse rivals, the Mets and Philadelphia Phillies. That said, at least the team can still set its sights on a Wild Card spot. Stranger things have happened to teams with 10+ game leads, but for now, the Braves are 6.5 back of the third and final spot in the NL. We still have almost a month and a half to go before the MLB trade deadline, but the team needs to make a push now.

Thankfully, after this tough stretch against the Mets and Phillies, the Braves will have a crucial stretch against sub-.500 teams to begin July. They get the Los Angeles Angels and Baltimore Orioles at home for three-game sets, followed by the Athletics on the road. They need to head into those games with momentum, which can start by toppling their NL East foes over the next week. The book isn’t closed on the 2025 Braves. With Acuña Jr. back in the fold, the chapter is just beginning.