One step forward and two back. That has pretty much been the mantra for the 2021 season for the Atlanta Braves who climbed back to the .500 mark Saturday with a 5-4 win over the Miami Marlins. However, Ronald Acuña Jr. suffered a knee injury in the fifth inning while trying to make a play on a fly ball off the bat of Jazz Chisholm. Acuña had to be carted off the field and the situation did not look good.
Brian Snitker didn’t have any additional updates following the game saying only that Acuña was still being evaluated and that any news would probably come Sunday morning. So, we all will be waiting on pins and needles while hoping for the best. At the very least, Acuña will be added to the growing list of All-Stars who will be unable to participate in next week’s All-Star Game. Unfortunately we now know that Acuña has a torn ACL and will miss the remainder of the season.
Obviously, Atlanta can ill-afford to be without Acuña for any length of time as there is no way to replace what he brings to the lineup. It is disappointing for the injury to happen just when it seemed that the Braves were starting to build some momentum.
More Braves News
Freddie Freeman talked with The Athletic’s David O’Brien about the Braves and the 2021 season in an exclusive interview. Freeman touched on the team’s veteran leadership, how they are handling adversity and reiterated his desire to stay in Atlanta beyond this season.
Prior to Saturday’s game, Brian Snitker provided injury updates on Huascar Ynoa and Travis d’Arnaud. Ynoa is scheduled to throw off a mound soon while d’Arnaud has begun swinging a bat with both hands. The team is still expecting d’Arnaud back in August. There is no timetable for Ynoa yet and there is a chance that he could work out of the bullpen when he is ready to return.
Major League Baseball announced 10 All-Star replacements for players who are unable to participate in the game. In the American League, Tim Anderson, Chris Bassitt, Whit Merrifield and Joey Wendle are replacing Jose Altuve, Michael Brantley, Carlos Correa and Ryan Pressly.
For the NL, Walker Buehler, Justin Turner, Max Scherzer, Taijuan Walker, Freddy Peralta and Omar Narvaez are in replacing Mookie Betts, Jacob deGrom, Yu Darvish and Buster Posey. Brandon Woodruff and Kevin Gausman will be unavailable for the game because they are starting on Sunday. Yadier Molina was originally selected to replace Posey but opted out and was replaced by Narvaez.
MLB News
Veteran left-hander Cole Hamels will hold a showcase for interested teams on July 16 per MLB Network’s Jon Heyman. Hamels tossed just three innings for the Braves in 2020 due to injury.
Dodgers left-hander Clayton Kershaw’s MRI came back clean on his sore elbow. The test showed inflammation but no structural damage. Dave Roberts told reporters that Kershaw is scheduled to play catch Saturday and will rest during the All-Star break.