Ronald Acuna Jr. wasted no time making noise in the FCL, and he did it in a way that only he seems capable of pulling off. In just three plate appearances, Acuna launched a grand slam, drove in five runs and helped power the FCL Braves to a wild 14-13 win over the FCL Red Sox.
Acuna finished 1-for-1 with a home run, two walks and five RBIs, and his line sat at .143/.333/.571. Ha-Seong Kim also reached base twice on walks and drove in a run, while Andrew McCutchen added a walk and an RBI. Caden Merritt chipped in with a 2-for-3 day that included a double and two walks.
The game looked under control for the Braves after Acuna’s blast. He had already worked two walks, with the second bringing home a run in the second inning, before coming up again with the bases loaded in the third.
After taking a couple of fastballs he couldn’t put in play, he got a slider and crushed it 112.8 mph and 423 feet for the grand slam. That shot pushed the Braves to an 11-4 lead.
Then things got messy. The Red Sox answered with nine runs over the next three innings, including six in the sixth, and eventually moved ahead 13-11.
The Braves had gone quiet after Acuna exited in the third, but Malvin Fernandez snapped that drought with a two-run homer in the seventh to tie it. In the eighth, the Braves loaded the bases with nobody out, and a run scored on a force out at second to give them the lead for good.
In the DSL, the Braves came up empty in a 5-0 loss to the DSL Giants Orange. Jose Manon, Edelson Cabral and Sherrintley De Costa Gomez each had one hit, while Geowin Gomez took the loss on the mound.
Gomez had been sharp for most of the season, allowing only two earned runs before Thursday, and he opened with three scoreless innings. The fourth inning unraveled fast.
He gave up four straight hits, was pulled without recording an out, and all five Giants runs in the frame were charged to him. That was the only scoring inning of the game.
The Braves had an early chance in the first when Manon singled and Cabral followed with another hit to put runners on the corners, but three straight strikeouts ended the threat. Manon also had to leave the game, and the video available did not show much beyond what appeared to be an awkward slide.
In Other News...
Braves Just Made A Pitching Move Fans Need To Watch Closely
The Braves made a pitching move Monday by selecting the contract of right-hander Elieser Hernndez and adding him to the active roster, a sign they wanted another arm available as they continue sorting through the back end of the staff. Hernndez had been in the organization on a minor league deal since November, and his path to Atlanta has already taken him through both the Korea Baseball Organization and Triple-A.
To clear a spot, right-hander Owen Murphy was optioned to Triple-A Gwinnett, a reminder that the Braves are still juggling innings and roles as they look for stability. Hernndez has spent much of his recent work in relief after starting earlier in the year, so the real question now is how Atlanta plans to use him and whether this promotion becomes more than a short-term roster fix. [Read more 🡒]
Anthopoulos Just Framed The Braves Deadline Dilemma Perfectly
Alex Anthopoulos did not try to dress up the Braves deadline reality. With injuries still shaping the roster and the trade market moving slowly, Atlantas baseball operations president said the club is trying to find pitching help while also waiting on reinforcements already in the system. Ronald Acua Jr., Spencer Schwellenbach and AJ Smith-Shawver all remain part of the larger picture, which is why the front office is weighing both the market and its own internal timeline before it makes a move.
The challenge is that the kind of arms Atlanta would want are getting harder to pry loose, especially if more clubs decide to hold rather than sell. Schwellenbach has started bullpen sessions in Florida after February surgery on his right elbow, and Smith-Shawver has been building back with rehab starts for Triple-A Gwinnett. For a team trying to stabilize a rotation that has wobbled for weeks, the next few days may say as much about patience as they do about aggression. [Read more 🡒]
Braves Rotation Crisis May Have Finally Forced The Front Office's Hand
The Braves pitching picture has tightened enough that every rotation update now carries real weight. Walt Weiss said Spencer Strider and Spencer Schwellenbach may not be back this season based on where their rehabs stand, which only adds to the strain on a staff that has already been forced to keep shuffling arms in and out of the roster.
Owen Murphy was sent back to the minors, Elieser Hernandez was recalled and Martin Perez is expected to slide back into the rotation, but Atlanta is still staring at a thin list of internal answers. With AJ Smith-Shawver still working back from Tommy John surgery and Hurston Waldrep not yet trusted to hold a spot, the Braves may have to look outside the organization before the August 3 trade deadline if they want more stability on the mound. [Read more 🡒]