Atlanta Braves outfielder Ronald Acuña Jr. tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee on Sunday against the Pittsburgh Pirates.
the The Braves announced his injury Sunday night After undergoing an MRI. He will miss the rest of the season.
The injury occurred when Acuña advanced on the base paths from second base in the first inning of Atlanta’s 8-1 win. He fell on the grass in obvious pain and grabbed his left leg. He remained on the ground for several moments while trainers tended to him before he eventually limped off the field.
Acuña was injured in the top half of the first inning of the scoreless game. He reached base on a leadoff double, then was hit while trying to steal third base. The Braves left Sunday’s game with the third-best record in the National League at 30-20, six games behind the first-place Philadelphia Phillies (38-16) in the National League East.
Hard blow to Acuña, brave ones
Acuña, 26, is a four-time All-Star and National League MVP. He led the league in runs, hits, stolen bases and on-base percentage in 2023 while slashing .337/.416/.596 with 41 home runs, 106 RBI, 149 runs scored and 73 stolen bases. In 48 games this season, he has slashed .246/.348/.356 with four home runs, 15 RBI and 16 stolen bases.
The ACL tear is the second of Acuña’s career. He tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee in 2021 after jumping to play the field. Acuña also suffered a sprained ACL in 2018 and was optimistic after the game Sunday that he had suffered another injury. he told reporters He didn’t feel the pop As is the case with his previous ACL tear and he wouldn’t be surprised if that happened Marginalized for a month. Instead, he suffered the second season-ending injury of his seven-season MLB career.
Acuña’s injury is the second season-altering injury for a Braves team that entered the season hoping to compete for its second World Series win in four seasons. All-Star outfielder Spencer Stryder pitched in just two games before undergoing season-ending internal brace surgery to repair the ulnar collateral ligament in his elbow. Strider finished fourth in Cy Young voting last year and was among the preseason favorites to compete for the award this year.
Now the Braves are left to regroup without their preseason Cy Young and MVP candidates.
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