Atlanta Braves star Ronald Acuña Jr. suffered an injury scare during Friday night’s game against the Miami Marlins, which the Braves lost 9-6. After hitting a ground ball in the top of the eighth inning, Acuña began to sprint toward first base but seemed to sustain some sort of leg injury in the process, unable to make it to the bag.
Acuña then tried to return to the field for the bottom of the inning in the outfield but was examined by medical personnel and then pulled from the contest.
The Braves officially announced that it was “right calf tightness” that forced the MVP favorite’s premature exit from the loss.
Now, it appears that Acuña himself has no worries about how the injury will affect him long-term. Acuña said after the game that he wants to play in Atlanta’s game against the Marlins on Saturday but that he will see how he feels before making that decision, per Justin Toscano of the AJC.
Braves fans will certainly be glad to hear that the injury appears to be a relatively minor one for Acuña, who is the runaway favorite to take home this year’s NL MVP award. Acuña has led the Braves to a 96-51 record, good for the best in baseball up to this point, and the team is in the driver’s seat to clinch the number one overall seed heading into the playoffs, which begin in just a few short weeks.
First pitch of Saturday’s game against the Marlins is at 4:10 PM ET.
