Ronald Acuña Jr. and Ozzie Albies each hit two-run home runs as the Atlanta Braves beat the Chicago Cubs 6-3 at Wrigley Field in Chicago on Tuesday night.
Acuña hit his home run in the sixth inning, cutting the Cubs’ lead to 3-2. Albies hit his homer in the following inning, giving Atlanta a 4-2 lead.
Albies was asked about Acuña after the win.
Ozzie Albies Makes Ronald Acuña Jr. Statement After Win Over Cubs
“When [Acuña] is healthy and he gets on one of these streaks, he’s the best player in baseball,” Albies said to MLB.com’s Mark Bowman. “There’s nothing else to say about that.”
Over his past 18 games, Acuña has hit .366 with a 1.066 OPS and five home runs.
Looking at Atlanta Braves RF Ronald Acuña Jr.
Acuña has had an inconsistent year by his standards. Overall, the right fielder has slashed .254/.346/.447 with 18 home runs and 49 RBI over 99 games this season.
Injuries have derailed Acuña’s season. He missed two weeks in May with a left hamstring strain. He missed a month later in the season after straining the same hamstring.
Throughout his career, Acuña has slashed .286/.380/.516 with 204 home runs and 508 RBI over 916 games.
While Acuña has had a down season by his standards, his numbers are still solid. He’s getting hot at the right time, which is all that matters for him and the Braves at this point.
Looking at Atlanta Braves 2B Ozzie Albies
Albies has struggled this month, entering Tuesday’s matchup with a .155 batting average and a .500 OPS over his previous 19 games.
Hopefully for Albies and the Braves, the second baseman’s clutch home run is a sign of good things to come.
Albies has slashed .245/.299/.409 with 22 home runs and 71 RBI over 152 games this season.
Since making his MLB debut with Atlanta in 2017, Albies has posted a .263/.317/.449 slash line with 179 home runs and 653 RBI over 1,180 games.
Atlanta Braves Star Ozzie Albies Makes Ronald Acuña Jr. Statment Amid Cubs Series