Acuña finds power stroke, sparks Braves with first HR since May

ATLANTA -- When Thursday’s series opener between the Braves and Nationals entered the bottom of the fourth inning, Washington held a three-run lead after Braves starting pitcher Grant Holmes gave up three solo home runs and Nationals starting pitcher Jake Irvin hadn’t allowed a hit.

It was not a good start to the homestand for a recently struggling Braves offense that had scored just 11 total runs over its previous 47 innings.

Enter Ronald Acuña Jr., who returned to the Braves’ lineup on July 27 after missing 39 games with a left hamstring strain.

Acuña broke up Irvin’s no-hit bid with a solo home run -- his first homer since May 31 and his first at Truist Park since April 24 -- in the bottom of fourth, and his eighth blast of the year was the first of five unanswered runs that propelled Atlanta to a 5-4 victory over Washington at Truist Park.

Mike Yastrzemski’s two-run home run in the fifth tied the game at 3, and Ozzie Albies tallied a two-run single in the sixth that gave the Braves their first lead, 5-3. Irvin allowed five earned runs on three hits over five-plus innings.

When Major League sluggers are right, they typically find power to the opposite field. Acuña did exactly that on Thursday as he drove an Irvin sinker that was just outside of the middle of the strike zone a Statcast-projected 421 feet over the wall in right-center field.

“It’s good to have Ronald back to see him hit balls into the right-center bullpen,” Braves manager Walt Weiss said. “That’s always a good sign. It’s another great win for our guys.

In his most recent four games, Acuña has flip-flopped with Drake Baldwin leading off and hitting second. Acuña has been leading off against left-handed starting pitchers and hitting second behind the left-handed-hitting Baldwin against right-handed starting pitchers.

Though Acuña is just 2-for-14 in his four games since returning from the injured list, Weiss said Acuña could provide a valuable spark to the top of Atlanta’s lineup over the second half of the season.

“When you look at the top of that lineup -- whether Ronald is leading off or Baldwin is leading off -- it’s Baldwin, Acuña, [Matt] Olson, [Michael] Harris [II and] Albies,” Weiss said. “It’s a pretty daunting task for any pitcher. Ronald [having] that right-handed bat in the middle of all those lefties is a game changer.”

More offensive production is certainly welcome for a Braves club that is struggling to get length out of starting pitchers.

Holmes allowed three runs on five hits over 4 2/3 innings. It was the first time since June 22 that Holmes did not make it through at least five innings in a start, but he has not pitched six innings since June 3. Holmes threw just 69 pitches on Thursday.

“I had a lot more in me,” Holmes said. “Ultimately it was the manager’s decision. I respect it. And we ended up winning so that’s all that matters. [The key to consistently going five-plus innings] is being more effective. I feel like I had a little bit of length in me tonight. It’s still frustrating, but it is what it is.”

Braves starting pitchers have delivered 35 quality starts (13 from Chris Sale, 11 from Bryce Elder and 11 combined from five other starting pitchers). Braves starters average five innings per start.

“I would like for our starters to go deeper,” Weiss said. “I’m watching the game and I’m trying to win the game and I do what I think gives us our best chance to win every night. If I have to do something like I did tonight in the fifth inning and we have the guys in the bullpen that are available to do it, I’ll do it.”

As Monday’s 6 p.m. ET Trade Deadline approaches, speculating about a potential move to be made by Braves president of baseball operations Alex Anthopoulos is usually a fruitless task. However, the combination of a lack of starting pitching length and key rotation injuries should paint a clearer picture about Atlanta’s immediate need of a starting pitcher.

“We know how Alex operates,” Weiss said. “He goes underground. Sometimes that’s for your benefit, because he doesn’t want you to have the pressure of having to answer things. In a way, he tries to protect the people around him by being as stealthy as he is.”