The Atlanta Braves made a change to Ronald Acuna Jr. before their series finale against the Houston Astros.
Atlanta is looking for the series sweep after winning 6-3 on Saturday and 6-2 on Friday in the three-game road series.
The Braves enter play with a record of 91-64.
Atlanta Braves Announce Ronald Acuna Jr. Change
With Atlanta looking for the series sweep, the Braves made some changes to their lineup.
Atlanta is set to return to the playoffs, so the focus is on that so giving some players some days off is key. In the series finale, Acuna Jr. is set to be the DH after playing right field in both of the first two games of the series.
The Braves lineup on Sunday is as follows:
- D. Baldwin C
- R. Acuña Jr. DH
- M. Olson 1B
- M. Harris II CF
- M. Dubón 3B
- O. Albies 2B
- M. Yastrzemski LF
- B. Hicklen RF
- H. Kim SS
By being the DH, the Braves are seemingly giving Acuna a half-day off, as he gets to get off his feet and only has to hit.
Acuna is hitting .259 with 20 home runs and 55 RBIs this season with the Braves. In his last 7 games, Acuna has been hot as anyone, as he’s hitting .379 with 4 home runs and 10 RBIs.
Atlanta Right Now
The Braves are playing great baseball as of late, and a big reason why is because of Acuna.
Acuna has arguably been the best hitter in baseball in the month of September. He hit a grand slam on Saturday, which helped the Braves get another win.
“It’s exciting, especially when you think of the entire year and you look at it from 10,000 feet,” manager Walt Weiss said about Acuna. “There’s some really good things going on, and some guys stepping up. Yeah, I’m proud of these guys.”
Acuna has dealt with injuries this season, but since coming back has been a major help to the Braves.
“I feel like every big situation that comes up, he’s answering,” Braves starting pitcher Grant Holmes said. “For him to turn it around like he has in the past month, it’s pretty special. He’s getting hot at the right time.”
Atlanta’s magic number to clinch the NL East is just 1.
Atlanta Braves Announce Ronald Acuna Jr. Change During Astros Series