Braves: Acuna Injury Update and Markakis in Legendary Company
By Seth Carter
Here are a couple of notes from the Atlanta Braves extra-innings loss to the Nationals last night.
The Atlanta Braves went down right off the bat as the three in the first. Juan Soto put his hitting ability on full display as he was able to stay back on an offspeed pitch to drive in two on a double down the line.
In the third, he showed off his balance and intelligence as he stayed balanced and took a nice easy swing on a low and away pitch. The ball glided into left field for a single that would have made Tony Gwynn proud. Yan Gomes would follow up with another RBI to put the Nats up 5-0 in the third inning.
Atlanta Braves – Nick Markakis Among Legendary Company
Starter Josh Tomlin would give up Nick Markakis clubbed a one-out double in the fourth, tying him with Rickey Henderson for 57th-place all-time. Nick is just 12 doubles away from breaking into the top-50 all-time.
Markakis is now four doubles behind Edgar Martinez, 13 back from Willie Mays, 14 away from Ken Griffey Jr., and just 15 from saying he hit as many doubles as the great Ted Williams.
The Braves were able to put up a couple of runs in the fourth to make it 5-2, but the moment that had everyone panicking was when superstar Ronald Acuna Jr. violently fouled a ball off the inside of his ankle.
Atlanta Braves – Ronald Acuna Jr. Injury Update
Acuna hit the dirt and was in serious pain. He had to be helped off of the field and was unable to put any weight on the ankle. Manager Brian Snitker said after the game that the ball must have hit a nerve and there was no fracture. He was able to put weight on it and not long after exiting the game and depending on how it goes overnight, he could play in Saturday’s game.
Atlanta Braves – Runners Left on Base
The Braves threatened in the sixth by loading the bases with one out. Ender Inciarte singled to center field followed by a Freddie Freeman single up the middle. Marcell Ozuna then added a third straight single for the Braves to load them up for Travis d’Arnaud. TDA struck out to give the Braves two outs with Dansby Swanson up. Dansby would coax a walk to score one. The score was stuck at 6-3 when Riley grounded out to leave the bases loaded.
This was just a microcosm of the Braves’ struggles tonight. While they did score seven runs on 14 hits and 12 walks. Atlanta’s hitters stranded 42 runners tonight in the extra-innings loss.
Atlanta Braves – Reinforcements
Max Fried and Cole Hamels are both expected to join the club next week. Mike Foltynewicz is hitting 95 mph on the radar gun again. If those three can return and be ready for the postseason the Braves could be in a prime position to finally add some starting pitching to their potent offense.
Ian Anderson looks to build on his solid rookie campaign as he brings his 2.40 ERA against established stud Patrick Corbin.