Ex-Braves veteran says Ronald Acuna Jr. 'handcuffed' Atlanta in Game 3 loss vs. Dodgers
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Ex-Braves veteran says Ronald Acuna Jr. 'handcuffed' Atlanta in Game 3 loss vs. Dodgers originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
The Atlanta Braves had the opportunity to put themselves in the driver's seat on Tuesday, but they were unable to do it against the Los Angeles Dodgers. In a sense, it was a must-win game to get all of the pressure off of them.
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However, an hour before first pitch, it was announced that Ronald Acuña Jr. wouldn’t be playing in the field.
“Ronald Acuña Jr. is now DH'ing, while Sean Murphy has been removed from the lineup. Lane Thomas is now playing RF. According to the Braves, Acuña's right knee is a bit sore from sliding into a base in LA,” The Athletic’s Jesus Cano wrote.
With Acuña playing DH, it allowed Lane Thomas to get the start in place of Acuña. This marked the very first time the former MVP would start at DH in the postseason.
“Acuña was slated to play right field until the Braves announced the lineup change approximately 90 minutes before the first pitch. The Braves veteran outfielder served as the DH 14 times during the regular season. But this marked the first time he has filled the role during this postseason,” Braves reporter Mark Bowman wrote.
However, there is some major belief that Acuña hurt the Braves in a way they were not able to recover from. In the first inning, Acuña used an ABS challenge that was not successful. Former Brave Kevin Pillar believes it handcuffed Atlanta for the rest of the game.
“It really handcuffs the rest of the lineup and your catcher,” Pillar said.
One of the most notable moments in the game was when Matt Olson could have led off an inning with a walk, but instead chose not to challenge. That was a ripple effect from Acuña using his challenge in the first inning.
The timing of the challenge with no one on base was almost selfish, as he just didn’t want to strike out. Acuña is really struggling right now, and on Tuesday night, he impacted the entire game for his team with a strikeout in the first inning.
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