Ronald Acuna Jr. will return from a knee surgery that prevented him for almost a year when the Braves d’Atlanta opened a series of three games against the visit of San Diego Padres.
“It will be good, he feels ready and it’s great,” said Atlanta manager Brian Snitker. “It will be great to bring him back to programming.”
Acuna tore the anterior cross ligament of the left knee on May 26, 2024 and underwent surgery less than two weeks later.
In six rehabilitation games for minor leagues this year, one in class A and five in triple-a, Acuna beaten .400 (6 for 15) with two circuits and two doubles. Acuna was the MVP of the 2023 National League after hit 0.337 with 41 circuits, 106 products produced and 73 stolen bases. He directed the league in interceptions, sure (217), basic percentage (0.416) and OPS (1,012).
The paadres lost six in a row and released a three -game scan in Toronto. The Braves were swept away in a series of two games with rains in Washington.
This is the second meeting of the season between the teams. The host San Diego swept Atlanta in a four game set to open the season, sending the brave spiral at a start of 0-7. The paadres began 7-0.
The Friday pitch match includes the left-hander of Atlanta Chris Sale (2-3, 3.62 ERA) and the right-hander of San Diego Nick Pivetta (5-2, 2.86).
The sale will have the benefit of six days of rest. The last time he worked on more than four days of rest, he pulled 6 2/3 sleeves aimed against the Reds of Cincinnati on May 6.
The sale looked like its award-winning form in 2024 Cy Young in its last six appearances, going 2-1 with an MPM of 2.02 while removing 48 and walking 11 of 35 2/3 sleeves. During his last release on May 16, the sale worked seven rounds, granted a point and withdrew eight against the Red Sox in Boston, his former team.
“I saw from the first round, you could say that there was something special,” said Snitker.
The sale dominated the paadres in his career, going 4-0 with an MPM of 1.91 in five starts. He faced San Diego at the opening of the season and did not get a decision after authorizing three points in five rounds. He attracted seven.
Pivetta rebounded from its worst exit of the season (six points in four rounds against the Rockies of Colorado) to draw six strong heats against the Seattle Mariners on Saturday. He only granted two strokes and a walk while removing seven.
Pivetta made 22 appearances and 18 departures against the Braves, going 9-5 with an MPM of 4.61. He launched seven-sleeves aimlessly and granted only one safe blow while beating Atlanta 5-0 on March 30.
The padres were mired in a crisis struck. They scored only nine points during their losses sequence, most of those who came from 7-6 and 11 rounds on Thursday. The Blue Jays prevented them in the first two games in the series.
The exception has been Luis Arraez. He had 2 against 5 in the final in Toronto, giving him a sequence of nine games and increasing his average to 0.304. It was his 15th multi-game game of the year.
“I haven’t changed anything,” said Arraez. “I kept myself mentally strong, which is important, and I come here to play ball and take advantage of it. It’s a difficult game, but as I always say, it’s not impossible. We work every day to get better, and that’s what I do these days.”
– field level media
