Acuña Jr. tallies four hits, sacked once in blowout win vs. Rockies
Tonight's game was filled with tons of excitement. Homers, stolen bases, great pitching, web gems, and fans rushing the field.
By Chris Turner
Ronald Acuña Jr. reaffirmed himself as the front-runner for the National League MVP on Monday night, with a dazzling offensive outing in the Atlanta Braves' 14-4 win over the Colorado Rockies.
Atlanta is now 85-45 on the year, while Colorado falls to 49-82 with the loss.
The Rockies opened the scoring with a 473-foot Ryan McMahon home run in the first inning, the only time they would lead the game on Monday.
Atlanta jumped ahead in the 3rd after Austin Riley hit his 31st home run to right, scoring Acuña to give the Braves a 2-1 lead.
Colorado tied the game in the 4th with an RBI double before Acuña hit his 29th home run of the year to right, a 438-foot, 111 MPH 5th inning shot that pushed Atlanta back ahead 4-2. The Rockies would tie the game for a second time in the bottom of the inning to make it 4-4.
Kevin Pillar put the Braves ahead for good in the 6th with a sacrifice fly, followed by a four-run seventh inning that made it 9-4 going into the stretch.
In the 7th inning, two fans made their way onto the field and one actually knocked down Acuña as security was attempting to remove the fans.
I’m not sure what just happened, but 2 fans ran on the field & at least one made contact w/ Ronald Acuña Jr. Both of them were on the ground. Acuña is fine, but the idiot who ran out was extremely irate & tried to get back to Acuña. Multiple security guards eventually secured him
— Kelsey Wingert-Linch (@KelsWingert) August 29, 2023
Stay away from the MVP. pic.twitter.com/k3BQajDzmt
— Atlanta Braves (@Braves) August 29, 2023
Not a surprise really that these two fans wanted to end their day outside of a jail cell hanging out with the guy who finished with four hits, five RBIs, two stolen bases, and a home run.
Acuña picked up stolen base numbers 60 and 61 in the 7th and 8th innings and is one home run away from becoming the first player in MLB history to finish a season with 30 home runs and 60 stolen bases.
#Braves Ronald Acuña Jr. is one home run away from becoming the first player in MLB history to record a 30 homer, 60 steal season.
— Grant McAuley (@grantmcauley) August 29, 2023
And he could end up creating a couple of other clubs if he picks up that homer pace and swipes 10 more bags. https://t.co/UPSW2px6Hf
Atlanta added five more runs in the ninth to end the day with 14, making it 24 runs for the Braves against the Rockies in their last two meetings.
Game two of the three game series is set for 8:40 p.m. ET on Tuesday as Atlanta sends Charlie Morton to the mound.