Ronald Acuña Jr. added another line to his growing list of milestones on Wednesday afternoon, and this one came with a little extra weight: he became the fastest player in MLB history to get to 200 home runs and 200 stolen bases.
Acuña cleared the 200-200 barrier in his 904th game, doing it 25 games sooner than seven-time All-Star Alfonso Soriano. The moment came on a three-run homer in the seventh inning of the Braves’ 9-0 win in the series finale at Nationals Park.
The blast was Acuña’s 14th homer of an injury-interrupted season for the 2023 National League MVP, and it pushed Atlanta’s lead to 6-0. He had been sitting on the edge of the milestone for 16 games after homering on Aug. 15, and his bat had cooled in that stretch. In his previous 15 games, he hit just .207/.292/.241.
The stolen-base total was already in place by then. Acuña had swiped his 200th bag on June 24, 2025, and now sits at 225 steals.
Sean Murphy also delivered a big day at the plate, going 2-for-4 with four RBIs. He got Atlanta started with a three-run homer in the sixth inning.
That was more than enough for the Braves to split the series. They entered the day three games ahead of the second-place Phillies, and those two teams are set to open a four-game wraparound set at Citizens Bank Park on Friday.
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Elder now finds himself in an awkward spot, waiting while the Braves sort through how best to handle him and manage his rest. The timing matters, too, because the series offers Atlanta a chance to tighten things up against a division rival, and every pitching decision carries a little more weight when the margin for error feels thin. [Read more 🡒]
