ATLANTA -- Like Mets fans will never forget what Chipper Jones did to their team at the end of the 1999 National League East race, Phillies fans won’t forget how Ronald Acuña Jr. significantly weakened their division title hopes this year.
Acuña skillfully played the villain role last weekend in Philadelphia and he has further endeared himself to Atlanta fans this weekend. The 2023 NL MVP highlighted a three-hit performance when he homered and singled during an eight-run fourth inning in the Braves’ 12-2 win over the Phillies on Saturday night at Truist Park.
Riding the momentum of Friday night’s comeback victory, the Braves (88-61) moved six games in front of the second-place Phillies (82-67) in the NL East. Atlanta has also clinched the tiebreaker. Both teams will have 12 games remaining after this three-game series concludes Sunday.
Acuña has hit .378 with four homers and a 1.184 OPS in 12 games against the Phillies this year. Maybe more impressive is what he has done since Atlanta entered last weekend’s series in Philadelphia with a four-game lead.
The Braves right fielder has hit .478 with three home runs and a 1.370 OPS in six games against Philadelphia this month. He irritated Phillies fans last weekend with a long home run trot that was followed by him mockingly taking a curtain call in enemy territory.
Jones’ love-hate relationship with Mets fans was fueled as he hit .400 with seven homers and a 1.510 OPS against the Mets in 1999. The Braves led New York by two games when the two teams began a three-game set in Atlanta with 12 games remaining.
The Hall of Fame third baseman homered four times in nine at-bats as the Braves swept that three-game series to all but lock up the division.
Having spent a majority of this season with the Giants, Tyler Mahle is certainly happy to be in the thick of a division race he has significantly influenced. Mahle has posted a 1.25 ERA in the seven starts he has made since being acquired before the Trade Deadline.
Included in this strong stretch are two strong efforts against the Phillies. The veteran limited the Phillies to two unearned runs over six innings last Sunday in Philadelphia. He followed that by allowing just one earned run over six innings on Saturday.