Ronald Acuña Jr. hits long homer on first pitch in his return to Braves after missing 1 year
ATLANTA AP Ronald Acu a Jr crushed his first pitch feet for a home run in his dramatic return to the Atlanta Braves on Friday night Making his first appearance in almost one year the NL MV was activated from the injured list and restored to the Braves lineup almost one year after he tore his left ACL Acu a in his customary leadoff position in the lineup turned on a fastball from San Diego right-hander Nick Pivetta and sent the ball into the seats in left-center Acu a hesitated briefly on his jog around the bases for a shuffle step Infielder Orlando Arcia a All-Star was designated for assignment to clear a roster spot for Acu a who started in right field Acu a revealed through translator Franco Garcia he was super excited super happy to make his return and added I couldn t sleep that much after receiving the news of his return on Thursday Braves manager Brian Snitker communicated after Thursday night s - loss at Washington that Acu a would make his season debut on Friday night Snitker mentioned Friday it felt good to make out his first lineup of that included Acu a He s one of those players that you better not go get a beer or whatever because you might miss something really cool you know Snitker noted I mean he s that type of force I think in the match I think he s going to energize everybody Gonna energize the fans Gonna energize his teammates Acu a the NL MVP hurt his left knee last May and had surgery on June The -year-old played six games in the minors on a rehab assignment going for with two home runs Acu a played in only games last season batting with four homers RBIs stolen bases and a OPS This is Acu a s second comeback from a major knee injury He tore his right ACL on July and returned the following April When requested Friday what is different about this rehabilitation process he noted Patience The patience for sure I just think I m in a much better place Atlanta entered - after an - start It s huge third baseman Austin Riley commented The talent is there The ability he brings having Ronald up there at the top of the lineup he can change a tournament at any point Acu a was a unanimous NL MVP in when he hit with home runs RBIs and a league-leading OPS Acu a also stole bases that year to become the only contestant with homers and steals in one season Arcia was a NL All-Star when he hit with homers and RBIs Arcia lost his starting job due to an inability to compensate at the plate while suffering a defensive decline He hit only in at-bats this season Snitker noted he hopes Arcia would ccept a minor league assignment if he does not land another job in the majors I think we all know that it s a business Acu a noted of Arcia getting cut I m happy to be back but I m sorry that s the move Nick Allen has taken over as the starting shortstop Snitker revealed Luke Williams is the backup shortstop and Eli White a part-time starter in the outfield will see more time in the infield AP MLB https apnews com hub mlb Source
