NEW YORK -- Ronald Acuña Jr. created a scare when he exited just three pitches into the Braves' 5-3 loss in Game 2 of a doubleheader against the Mets at Citi Field on Monday. But it appears the Atlanta superstar could return to action soon.

Acuña exited the game after he was hit in the left shoulder by Tylor Megill’s 93.4 mph fastball. The outfielder spent a little more than a minute sitting in the grass near the batter’s box grabbing his shoulder in pain while being attended to by the training staff before heading to the clubhouse for further evaluation.

Initial X-rays taken at Citi Field were negative, leading the Braves to announce the outfielder was just dealing with a left shoulder contusion.

But to make sure it wasn’t more than a bruise, the Braves sent Acuña to a nearby hospital to gain more imaging results, which confirmed that there was no fracture.

“You just want to make sure,” manager Brian Snitker said. 

Acuña finished Game 1 -- which the Braves won, 9-8 -- a triple shy of the cycle, a three-hit outing highlighted by his Statcast-projected 448-foot homer, which landed in the third deck above the left-center-field wall. Three Mets batters were hit by pitches in that game: Jeff McNeil, Francisco Lindor and Pete Alonso.

“In that spot, [Megill] was trying to go up and in,” Braves catcher Sean Murphy said. “You wouldn’t throw at a guy 0-2 in that moment. But it still sucks. It gets guys riled up.”