ATLANTA -- The Braves were thinking about letting Ronald Acuña Jr. rest on Sunday. But that was before watching their dynamic outfielder hit a home run in each of the first two big league games he has played in a year.
“I was thinking, ‘Swinging the bat the way he is, he’s not going to want a day,’” Braves manager Brian Snitker said.
Acuña is being fueled by the adrenaline that intensified when he hit another rocket homer while helping the Braves claim a 7-1 win over the Padres on Saturday afternoon at Truist Park. The powerful outfielder has homered in two of the nine at-bats he has tallied since going 362 days between games at the Major League level.
“Sometimes, you’re just born with it, and he definitely was,” Braves first baseman Matt Olson said.
Acuña’s two-run homer in Saturday’s sixth inning wasn’t as dramatic as the one he hit on Friday, when he homered against the first big league pitch he had faced since tearing his left anterior cruciate ligament on May 26, 2024. But the instant production indicates he’s in better position now than he was in 2022, when he struggled after returning less than 10 months after tearing his right ACL.
“It’s been over a year since I’ve played three or four games in a row, but I’m feeling good,” Acuña said.
Acuña has every reason to feel good given what he has experienced over the past few days. The leadoff homer he hit on Friday was the longest home run (a Statcast-projected 467 feet) and hardest-hit ball (115.5 mph) generated by a Braves player this year. His homer on Saturday had more mortal-like metrics, 427 feet and 111 mph.
From a power perspective, it feels like Acuña is back to where he was in 2023, when he won the National League MVP after becoming the first player to ever hit 40-plus homers and steal 70-plus bases in a season.
“[Opponents] can’t ease their way into a game with Ronald,” Olson said. “Last night, perfect example, 115 for a homer. He’s dynamic when he gets on the bases, and the throw [outfield assist] he made last night to second. He’s the MVP and it’s good getting that kind of guy back.”
It feels like the Braves might also be reintroducing themselves to the 2023 form of Olson, who hit a go-ahead homer Saturday in the third inning against Sean Reynolds, a reliever who was forced to start when Michael King awoke with right shoulder stiffness.
Olson has hit eight of his 12 home runs in May.
Through 51 games, the Braves first baseman has hit .243 with a .828 OPS. He batted .232 with 14 home runs and a .877 OPS through the first 51 games of the career-best season he constructed two years ago.
In other words, his numbers aren’t much different than they were around this same exact point of the 2023 season, during which he set franchise records in home runs (54) and RBIs (139).
“It’s good to see results,” Olson said. “I wouldn’t say it’s perfect. It never is. But to be able to put a barrel on a couple and hit a gap or let it leave the yard feels good.”
It certainly feels good for Snitker to construct what is starting to look like a formidable lineup. Depth is still a concern. The final four batters in Atlanta’s lineup on Saturday all have a sub-.575 OPS in May -- Alex Verdugo (.566), Ozzie Albies (.565), Michael Harris II (.571) and Nick Allen (.522).
But Acuña’s healthy presence in the leadoff spot has certainly improved the lineup’s look. A more consistent offense would enhance the value of a strong rotation that received seven strong innings from Grant Holmes on Saturday. Holmes has pitched into the seventh inning in four of his past five starts, including each of his past three.
Holmes is getting his first taste of Acuñamania. The right-handed pitcher made his MLB debut a little more than two weeks after the outfielder suffered his season-ending knee injury last year.
“That home run yesterday, I feel like kind of jolted us a little bit,” Holmes said. “We didn't come out with a win, but, I feel like that kind of got us going. I feel like he's just that type of guy that's going to continue to do that.”