Ronald Acuña Jr. exits Thursday’s game with an apparent ankle injury.
In the Atlanta Braves‘ series finale vs. the Toronto Blue Jays, right fielder Ronald Acuña Jr. left the game with an ankle injury after trying to leg out an infield single in the bottom of the seventh inning.
Acuña hit his league-leading 12th home run of the season to lead off the game, but was unable to finish vs. Toronto. He was initially called safe on the play in question, but the play was overturned by the umpiring crew to add insult to injury. The good news for Braves Country is he was able to walk off the field on his own accord without assistance, but he did have a limp back to the dugout.
This is not the first time Acuña exited a game this year due to injury, but hopefully, it is the last.
Ronald Acuña Jr. leaves game after injuring his ankle on a play at first base
With this being the last game of a homestand on getaway day, Acuña might be able to play on Friday night in their series opener at the Milwaukee Brewers. He will have had more than 24 hours since exiting the game vs. the Blue Jays on Thursday afternoon. Acuña missed two games with an abdominal issue back in April, but did not miss one after getting drilled on the hand in early May.
Overall, this has been a frustrating start to the season the for Braves. Now in the middle of May, the three-time reigning NL East champions are still below .500. While no team in the NL East has played well up to this point, we have to wonder if it is the cards for the Braves to win another division crown and possibly get to their first World Series since 1999. They have to be healthy.
While Acuña’s injury does not appear to be serious, he has exited a game for a third time this year.