Ronald Acuña Jr. Reacts to Braves’ Chris Sale Decision Amid Dodgers Series

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ATLANTA, GEORGIA - OCTOBER 01: Ronald Acuña Jr. #13 of the Atlanta Braves reacts prior to game three of the National League Wild Card Series against the Philadelphia Phillies at Truist Park on October 01, 2026 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)

The Atlanta Braves are down 0-1 in the National League Division Series after the Los Angeles Dodgers won the first game 5-3 at Dodger Stadium on Saturday.

Game 2 of the series is scheduled to start at 8:00 p.m. EDT on Sunday. The game will be played at Dodger Stadium.

Left-hander Ray Kerr will start for the Braves on Sunday. Kerr threw 3 1/3 scoreless innings in Game 3 of the National League Wild Card Series against the Philadelphia Phillies at Truist Park.

MLB.com’s Mark Bowman asked Atlanta star Ronald Acuña Jr. about the Braves’ decision to not start ace Chris Sale in Game 2.

Ronald Acuña Jr. Makes Honest Chris Sale Statement Before Braves-Dodgers NLDS Game 2

From Bowman on X:

Q. When did you learn that Chris Sale is not starting tonight, and what was your reaction?

Ronald Acuña Jr.: I don’t know what I’m going to say about this because I can’t control that. I can control what I can control. So today we go out and try to win. I’m doing my best, my team too, and we’ll see what happens today.

Mark Bowman

@mlbbowman · Follow

Ronald Acuña Jr. paused and took a breath before providing this response

5:08 pm · 4 Oct 2026

174 Reply Copy link Read 24 replies

Sale would’ve been pitching on short rest if the Braves elected to start him Sunday.

He pitched Game 1 of the Wild Card Series on Tuesday, allowing three runs while striking out nine over 6 1/3 innings. He also pitched in the Wild Card Series finale on Thursday, throwing 1 1/3 innings of relief.

Sale went 14-9 with a 2.16 ERA, 0.98 WHIP and 200 strikeouts over 162 2/3 innings during the regular season.

If it weren’t for Milwaukee Brewers ace Jacob Misiorowski, Sale would have a decent shot at winning the NL Cy Young Award.

Looking at Brewers-Dodgers NLDS Game 2

Here is the Braves’ lineup for today:

Here is the Braves’ lineup:

1. Drake Baldwin C
2. Ronald Acuña Jr. RF
3. Matt Olson 1B
4. Ozzie Albies 2B
5. Michael Harris II CF
6. Mauricio Dubón SS
7. Sean Murphy DH
8. Austin Riley 3B
9. Lane Thomas LF

Here is the Dodgers’ lineup:

1. Mookie Betts SS
2. Shohei Ohtani DH
3. Will Smith C
4. Freddie Freeman 1B
5. Teoscar Hernandez LF
6. Kyle Tucker RF
7. Andy Pages CF
8. Miguel Rojas 3B
9. Tommy Edman 2B

Veteran southpaw Blake Snell will start for the Dodgers today.

The 33-year-old went 4-1 with a 1.90 ERA, 1.10 WHIP and 55 strikeouts over 42 2/3 innings during the regular season.