ATLANTA -- Ronald Acuña Jr. keeps putting himself right at the center of the NL East race, and Phillies fans have every reason to remember this stretch the way Mets fans still remember Chipper Jones in 1999.
Acuña followed up his work in Philadelphia last weekend by starring again on Saturday night at Truist Park, where he sparked Atlanta’s eight-run fourth inning with a homer and a single in the Braves’ 12-2 win over the Phillies. The three-hit night only added to what has already been a punishing month for Philadelphia.
The Braves, coming off Friday night’s comeback win, improved to 88-61 and pushed their lead over the second-place Phillies to six games at 82-67. Atlanta also owns the tiebreaker. After the series wraps up Sunday, both teams will have 12 games left.
Acuña has been relentless against Philadelphia all year, batting .378 with four homers and a 1.184 OPS in 12 games. Over the last two weeks, though, he has been even louder. Since Atlanta entered last weekend’s series in Philadelphia with a four-game cushion, the right fielder has hit .478 with three homers and a 1.370 OPS in six games against the Phillies this month.
He also made sure the home crowd in Philadelphia knew exactly who was beating them. Last weekend, Acuña drew boos with a long home run trot and then took a curtain call in enemy territory.
That kind of scene brings back the old Jones-Mets dynamic. In 1999, Jones hit .400 with seven homers and a 1.510 OPS against New York, and the Braves were only two games ahead when the teams opened a three-game set in Atlanta with 12 games remaining. Jones then homered four times in nine at-bats as Atlanta swept the series and nearly closed the door on the division.
Another player right in the middle of a race is Tyler Mahle, who is enjoying the challenge after spending most of the season with the Giants. Since being acquired before the Trade Deadline, Mahle has turned in a 1.25 ERA over seven starts.
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Braves Prospects Delivered Big Pitching Nights And Got Nothing To Show For It
Cedric De Grandpre and Luke Sinnard each turned in encouraging outings Saturday for Braves minor league clubs, only to see the scoreboard punish them anyway. De Grandpre worked five innings and struck out eight while allowing two runs on four hits, and Sinnard struck out seven over four and a third innings, giving up four runs on eight hits in a game where both sides of the ledger leaned heavily toward the pitchers.
For Atlantas farm system, the frustrating part was not the quality of the arms so much as the lack of help around them. Both teams were held down offensively, which left two promising pitching nights to become losses instead of steps forward in the standings. For prospects trying to build momentum, it was the kind of evening that can feel like progress in one dugout and wasted effort in the other. [Read more 🡒]
Braves Just Saw A Phillies Rookie Become A Bigger Problem
Andrew Painters season has been a reminder that a rough stretch does not always define a rookie pitcher. After being optioned to Triple-A Lehigh Valley when his ERA climbed too high, the Phillies right-hander came back to the majors and settled in enough to start looking like a real factor again. His most recent outing against the Braves showed why Philadelphia kept turning back to him, as he worked five innings and allowed just one earned run.
The Phillies still did not get the win out of that start, but Painters progress has mattered in a bigger picture for a club trying to stay in the thick of the National League Wild Card race. For Atlanta, the concern is less about one bad night than the possibility that a young arm once in trouble has now found enough rhythm to make life harder on division rivals down the stretch. [Read more 🡒]
Braves Send A Clear Message In Finale Lineup Vs Phillies
The Braves shuffled their order for the finale against the Phillies, a notable tweak in a series that already carried plenty of weight for both clubs. Michael Harris II is leading off, while Ronald Acua Jr. remains in the lineup but is not expected to play the field, giving Atlanta a slightly different look as it tries to finish the matchup on its own terms.
Philadelphia, meanwhile, is sticking with the same lineup it used in the previous game and also welcomed left-hander Tanner Banks back from the injured list, with reliever Grant Holman being optioned out. For Atlanta, the changes read like a clear signal that the club is willing to mix and match late in the year, especially against a division opponent that rarely gives away much. [Read more 🡒]