Acuña brothers swap jerseys in first meeting as big leaguers
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Tuesday night marks the beginning of a pivotal series between the Mets and Braves from Truist Park in Atlanta. It is the latest chapter in this long-running NL East rivalry.
And you will find something within this rivalry that not many others in the sport have right now: lifelong brotherly love.
Mets rookie Luisangel Acuña and his big brother, Braves star Ronald Acuña Jr., won’t see each other on the field this week due to the latter’s season-ending knee injury. But the two brothers did meet up before Tuesday’s game to exchange hugs and jerseys.
While Ronald can only root his club on from the dugout, Luisangel has been a revelation for the Mets, batting .379 (11-for-29) with six extra-base hits and three home runs over his first nine big league games. While he has filled in at shortstop for the injured Francisco Lindor, the Mets have won six of those nine games and enter this three-game set with a half-game lead over the D-backs for the second NL Wild Card spot.
The Braves, who have won four of their past five games, are 1 1/2 games behind Arizona.