Braves Ronald Acuña Jr. appears to hurt leg in first inning against Pirates

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Atlanta Braves star Ronald Acuña Jr. will miss the remainder of the season after he tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee throughout Sunday’s 8-1 victory at Pittsburgh.

The reigning NL MVP led off the sport with a double to right-center discipline off Martín Pérez. With Marcell Ozuna on the plate, Acuña began towards third on a stolen base try and his left knee gave manner. Acuña remained down for a number of minutes whereas being handled, pointing at his left leg earlier than strolling off beneath his personal energy.

The Braves’ preliminary analysis was left knee soreness. However the crew introduced Sunday evening that an MRI confirmed an entire ACL tear that can require season-ending surgical procedure.

Acuña tore his proper ACL on July 20, 2021. Sporting a brace within the clubhouse after Sunday’s win, the 26-year-old outfielder stated this damage felt much less extreme.

“(I) don’t really feel that painful, any pop or something. … Don’t suppose it’s that unhealthy,” Acuña stated.

Acuña stated he was seeking to take third when he anticipated a sluggish throw again to the mound from catcher Joey Bart. The toss got here in more durable than anticipated, resulting in an abrupt pivot again to second together with his knee twisting.

Acuña is batting .250 with 4 homers and 15 RBIs in 49 video games. The four-time All-Star hit a career-best .337 final season with 41 homers and 106 RBIs.

Atlanta already was lacking All-Star right-hander Spencer Strider, whose season ended on April 13 when he had inner brace surgical procedure to restore the ulnar collateral ligament in his pitching elbow. Third baseman Austin Riley is everyday with a left intercostal pressure, and catcher Sean Murphy stays on the 10-day injured listing with an indirect damage after he acquired damage on opening day.

“It’s simply one thing that everyone goes by,” Snitker stated earlier than the outcomes of Acuña’s MRI had been introduced. “We’ve been by it earlier than. Personally, I simply hate it for the younger males that it impacts greater than us. These guys like to play the sport. When one thing occurs to these guys, I hate it for the people greater than us, fairly actually.”

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