Braves superstar Ronald Acuna Jr. left tonight’s game against the Cubs in the fourth innings “due to pain in his lower abdominal muscles, ”the team announced.
Acuna steps in to start the fourth inning, and “seems to be adjusting” (as per MLB.com’s Jordan Bastian) while diving back into the bag with a knockout attempt. After moving to a second base on a Freddie Freeman walked, Acuna was visited by the Braves coach, but remained in the game and later had to dive across the board to get on a Travis d’Arnaud volleyball. For the bottom of the fourth, Ehire Adrianza took Acuna’s place in the right field and Johan Camargo entered the match to take over for Adrianza on second base.
More about Acuna’s status will be known after undergoing tests, but needless to say, Atlanta fans and the entire baseball world are holding their breath that the injury is minor. After Acuna established himself as one of the best players in the sport in his first three MLB seasons, he is already busy with NL MVP buzz after hitting an extraordinary 0.419 / .486 / .887 with seven home games over his first 72 plate appearances.
If Acuna should miss any time, he will join fellow outside players Cristian Pache and Ender Inciarte on the injured list. The shorthand Braves still has Marcell Ozuna in left field, but may need to be on a combination of Guillermo Heredia, Adrianza, Camargo, of Austin Riley to deal with the other two outfield positions in the meantime. Atlanta does have several experienced options on its alternative training site (including Phil Ervin, Abraham Almonte, en Terrance Gore), as well as the best prospects Drew Waters.