BOSTON -- Ronald Acuña Jr. kissed his bat after kissing one goodbye for the first time in more than a month.
Acuña had reason to celebrate when he drilled a grand slam over the Green Monster in the decisive five-run sixth inning of a 10-2 Braves win over the Red Sox on Thursday afternoon at Fenway Park. This was just his third homer of the season and first since April 24.
“I’m hoping that’s the one that opens the floodgates,” Braves starting pitcher Chris Sale said. “That was a big situation with a good pitcher on the mound. Watching that ball go to the highway was a lot of fun.”
As soon as Acuña hit his Statcast-projected 417-foot shot, he took a few horizontal steps across the batter’s box, kissed his bat and then slammed it before beginning his home run trot. The energetic outfielder has displayed a collection of home run celebrations throughout his career, but this one was unique.
“That’s my first time [kissing a bat] because I don’t have results,” Acuña said. “I keep trying and I keep fighting.”
Acuña’s most memorable grand slam is the one he hit as a rookie against the Dodgers’ Walker Buehler in Game 3 of the 2018 NL Division Series. This was his fourth regular-season slam and first since he hit one at Dodger Stadium on Aug. 31, 2023.
Hitting home runs was once a regular event for Acuña, who won the 2023 NL MVP Award after becoming the only player who has ever hit 40-plus homers and collected 70-plus stolen bases in the same season. But he has struggled to regain elite production since tearing his left anterior cruciate ligament in 2024, three years after he tore his right ACL.
“Baseball is hard,” Acuña said. “Sometimes you feel good and you don't have results, and sometimes when you feel bad, you get results. I keep trying. I’m working in the cage with my hitting coach and all the stuff.”
Acuña has struggled with his bid to get back to an elite level this year. He hit .240 with a .724 OPS over the 34 games he played before he pulled his left hamstring on May 2. He remained sidelined until May 19 and entered Thursday having gone 5-for-30 with one extra-base hit (a double) since being activated.
“It’s good to see Ronnie get that big hit,” Braves manager Walt Weiss said. “If we get him rolling, it's a game-changer.”
Along with hitting the grand slam, Acuña drew a pair of walks and tallied both his ninth and 10th stolen bases of the season. His ability to provide consistent production would be significant for the Braves, who have been without Drake Baldwin’s key bat since he strained his right oblique muscle on May 18.
The Braves were shut out on Wednesday for the third time since Baldwin suffered the injury. But they bounced back on Thursday to avoid what would have been just their third series loss of the season. Just as importantly, the offensive eruption created hope that both Acuña and Ozzie Albies might be escaping their recent funks.
Albies began a three-hit day on Thursday with a third-inning double off Red Sox starter Payton Tolle. It was the second baseman’s first extra-base hit since he homered in Seattle on May 4. He then capped his big day by hitting his ninth homer of the season in the ninth.
With Acuña, Albies, Matt Olson and Austin Riley all skidding while Baldwin has been sidelined, the Braves’ most consistent offensive player has been Michael Harris II, who drilled his 13th homer in the seventh inning.
Olson, Acuña and Albies each homered during this three-game series in Boston. Weiss is hoping consistent production from his alway-dangerous leadoff hitter will positively impact the rest of the lineup.
“We’ve got a few guys who have been really working through some things and trying to figure it out,” Weiss said. “So, yeah, it’s a thing of beauty when Ronnie hits a ball like that.”