Acuña confident vs. LA thanks to clutch slam
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Ronald Acuña Jr. already stands as the youngest player to ever hit a leadoff homer in the postseason. The Braves outfielder gained this status last week in Game 1 of the National League Division Series, two years after becoming the youngest player to ever hit a grand slam in a playoff game.
Acuña will actually be thinking about that latter moment when he opposes Walker Buehler to begin the NL Championship Series on Monday night at Globe Life Park in Arlington. This will be the first postseason matchup between these two players since the Dodgers right-hander allowed the historic slam in Game 3 of the 2018 NL Division Series.
| Game | Date | Result | Highlights |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gm 1 | Oct. 11 | TB 2, HOU 1 | Watch |
| Gm 2 | Oct. 12 | TB 4, HOU 2 | Watch |
| Gm 3 | Oct. 13 | TB 5, HOU 2 | Watch |
| Gm 4 | Oct. 14 | HOU 4, TB 3 | Watch |
| Gm 5 | Oct. 15 | HOU 4, TB 3 | Watch |
| Gm 6 | Oct. 16 | HOU 7, TB 4 | Watch |
| Gm 7 | Oct. 17 | TB 4, HOU 2 | Watch |
Shop for postseason gear: “I actually always do try to focus on those moments, because I believe from those moments come the positivity and good feelings,” Acuña said through an interpreter. "From the good feelings comes the confidence. From the confidence comes the success and results. So I do try to focus on all of those positive moments. I think that mentality is what makes me Ronald Acuña Jr.”
Acuña has lived up to the hype that came from being one of baseball's top prospects. He won the 2018 NL Rookie of the Year Award and finished three steals shy of a 40-40 season in '19. He missed nearly two weeks of this year’s shortened season because of left wrist inflammation, but he still ranked 10th in the NL with 2.4 fWAR (Fangraphs’ WAR Model).
Given a chance to play in an NLCS for the first time, Acuña will now attempt to further cement his place among the game’s elite. His 10 extra-base hits in the postseason stand as the most ever totaled by a player 22 or younger. Andruw Jones, who homered in his first two World Series at-bats at the age of 19, had just six. No other Braves player has ever tallied more than two in the playoffs before turning 23.
“I think he loves this stage,” Braves manager Brian Snitker said. “I think he lives for this. He’s right in his element any time he’s on the baseball field or in the batter’s box. He is the kind of talent that will rise to the moment.”
Acuña’s first big moment on the national stage came when he electrified the hometown crowd during that matchup against Buehler two years ago. In just his 10th career postseason plate appearance, with his team having gone scoreless through the first 19 innings of the series, the 20-year-old hit the seventh grand slam in Braves’ postseason history.
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Adding to that list of big moments, Acuña became the youngest player to hit leadoff homer in the postseason when he swatted one to begin a three-game sweep of the Marlins in last week’s NL Division Series.
• Key facts, stats for each LCS
Though he has started in the first spot of Atlanta’s lineup just 230 times during his young career, he already holds the franchise record with 19 career leadoff homers. But the one he hit against the Marlins’ Sandy Alcantara was the most influential one for a Braves team that needed a spark after having been subdued by Reds pitchers in the NL Wild Card Series.
“I think he just loves the big moment,” Braves first baseman Freddie Freeman said. “You can tell. The bigger the lights, the bigger the performance Ronnie's going to put on. He’s just such an incredible talent that doesn’t come around too often. For him to be doing this at such a young age, it’s quite incredible.”
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Acuña has hit .304 with three homers and a 1.007 OPS through his first 14 career playoff games (65 plate appearances). He has struck out in half of his 22 at-bats in this year’s playoffs, but his three extra-base hits served as a reminder of how quickly he can change a game with both his power and speed.
“Once the lights are on, I don’t think we change our attitude or approach,” Acuña said. “We just go in with the same approach and just keep taking care of business.”