Ronald Acuña Jr. will serve as the designated hitter for the Atlanta Braves on Friday night.
Rebecca Black, eat your heart out, as Ronald Acuña Jr. returns to the Atlanta Braves lineup because he’s gotta get down on Fried Day.
Acuña last played on June 25 after fouling a pitch off his left foot in the third inning. He tried to play through the injury, but had to be removed from the game in the ninth inning in favor of Guillermo Heredia. Acuña was able to avoid going on IL, as there thankfully was no fracture in his left foot. He rejoined the team in Philadelphia ahead of Thursday’s catastrophe of a series finale.
Guess who’s batting leadoff and serving as the Braves’ DH in Max Fried’s latest start for Atlanta?
Ronald Acuña Jr. rejoins Braves lineup, ’cause he’s gotta get down on Fried Day
While being on the mend with foot, Acuña found out he would be making his third career trip to the Midsummer Classic, as he and New York Yankees slugger Aaron Judge were the leading vote getters in their respective leagues for the All-Star Game being played in Los Angeles later on this month. Despite only playing in 43 games this season, Acuña remains such a transcendent talent.
Simply put, the Braves are a better baseball team when Acuña is batting leadoff and playing in right field every single day. His bat and glove speak for themselves, but it is the pressure he puts on the base paths is what really opens up things offensively for Atlanta. When he is on the bases, it completely changes the entire dynamic of a game, making the opposing pitching staff shudder.
With the Braves coming off arguably their worst loss of the season, look for Atlanta to bounce back triumphantly in their lone trip to the Queen City this year. The Cincinnati Reds are not so hot right now and Atlanta split with them to start the season out wrong at Truist Park back in April. With Fried on the mound and Acuña in the lineup, go take the Braves on the moneyline to win big.
Atlanta needed a boost after Thursday night’s loss and the Braves just got it with Acuña’s return.