As good as the Atlanta Braves have been so far in 2026, we actually haven't seen them firing on all cylinders yet this season. For as potent as the Braves' offense has been, it has done so without Ronald Acuña Jr. playing at the level that many have grown to accustomed to seeing out of him. He certainly hasn't been terrible, but we all know that a .719 OPS out of Acuña Jr. qualifies as a slump by his lofty standards. Unfortunately, a familiar curse struck on Monday and it could impact Acuña Jr.'s availability going forward.
Nationals starter Jake Irvin had already plunked Acuña Jr. in the third inning and no one really thought much about it. Acuña Jr. took his base and ended up getting picked off.
Sadly, that is not where things ended. Irvin would come up and in the next time Acuña Jr. came to the plate with a fastball and the pitch hit him on the hand. Acuña Jr. was visibly in pain, but did manage to take his base and eventually come around to score during the Braves' rally in the fifth. However, despite being in the on-deck circle when the inning ended, Acuña Jr. did end up exiting the game early.
Ronald Acuña Jr. was on deck to bat when the top of the sixth ended, but he didn't take the field in the bottom half. Will let you know when we get an update on his hand. He was hit twice tonight. It looked like a pitch just slipped out of Elder's hand and hit Abrams' hip.
— Mark Bowman (@mlbbowman) April 21, 2026
Ronald Acuña Jr. was pulled from Braves' matchup against the Nationals after his second HBP as tempers flare
This isn't the first time that Acuña Jr. getting headhunted by opposing teams has caused problems and potential injury concerns. The Marlins under Don Mattingly famously decided that the only way they could beat Acuña Jr. was to plunk him constantly. However, with Acuña Jr.'s injury issues in the past, this is pretty much the last scare the Braves needed.
We also could be in store for more fireworks in this series. The next inning, Braves starter Bryce Elder hit CJ Abrams with a fastball of his own which looked unintentional, but the timing was definitely suspicious and warnings were issued. In short, we probably haven't heard the end of this little tiff between two in-division rivals.
However, the drama takes a back seat to Acuña Jr.'s health at the moment. As Mark Bowman noted, Acuña Jr. was in the on-deck circle, so it is possible that Walt Weiss pulled him as a precaution (or to prevent him from getting hit again). We'll find out more after the game as to how Acuña Jr. is doing, but this is not ideal to be sure.
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