Restored superstar Ronald Acuña Jr., sharpening Spencer Strider give Braves reasons to believe

New York Times

10 hours ago

ATLANTA — The Braves started 5-13, have already endured a pair of seven-game losing streaks, and still had the fifth-worst record in the National League after beating the hapless Colorado Rockies 4-1 on Saturday to clinch a second consecutive series after losing each of the previous six.
But the way they won Saturday, and specifically contributions from Spencer Strider and Ronald Acuña Jr., help explain why this team believes it can be the first to ever make the playoffs after losing its first seven games in a season.
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'It's why you like seeing (Acuña and Strider) healthy and on the field, because those guys are what this game's all about,' said manager Brian Snitker, whose Braves have won four of five games since losing 14 of the previous 17.
Strider had 13 strikeouts in six scoreless innings in his sixth and best start in 2025, after beginning the season on the injured list recovering from internal-brace elbow surgery and missing another month with a hamstring strain that happened five days after his season debut.
Strider and relievers Rafael Montero and Dylan Lee totaled 19 strikeouts, a franchise record for a nine-inning game and a Rockies franchise record for hitters in a nine-inning game.
As important as Strider can be in a rotation that already has aces Chris Sale and Spencer Schwellenbach, even more important for the Braves is Acuña, their superstar and dynamic leadoff man, who's back to being a player you can't take your eyes off.
Acuña hit a two-run homer in the second inning Saturday and has hit .387 with seven home runs in 20 games since coming off the IL. He leads NL qualifiers in average and OPS (1.178) since he was activated May 23, and in the past five games, he's hit .632 (12-for-19) with three homers and four multi-hit games. Yeah, he's back.
He's reminding everyone why he was widely considered one of baseball's two or three best players before his second ACL tear in late May 2024 and season-ending surgery that sidelined him until three weeks ago.
Acuña has been so productive in such a short span that some are beginning to wonder if he might make the All-Star team for the fifth time despite his late start. The 2025 All-Star Game will be played in Atlanta on July 15.
'Yeah, it would be incredible,' Acuña said through a translator. 'Obviously, it would just be completely different to any of the other ones that I've been to, being here at home. I really hope I get to participate in it and if I do, I'm gonna enjoy it to the max.'
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But he also said, 'I'm not too focused on numbers in regards to padding the stats to make the All-Star Game or anything. My main concern is just doing anything I can to help the team win and enjoying myself out there on the field.'
The only thing missing from his game so far is stolen bases. He hadn't attempted one until stealing Friday when the batter had a 3-2 count, more to avoid a double play than a pure steal.
Acuña hasn't been stealing at every opportunity like he did before surgery, and that's by design. He's been prudent about it, as the team hoped he'd be, because having him healthy for the rest of the season is far more important than getting a bunch of stolen bases.
'I felt ready to start running since I've come back, but I think we just have to approach it with some tact,' he said. 'Just sort of alter the way I'm playing, because obviously we want to stay healthy and we want to avoid any injuries. So I felt ready and good, but we're just taking a strategic approach about it.'
He hit a 410-foot homer Saturday on a pitch that few others could hit like he did — a 98 mph fastball from Chase Dollander that was above the strike zone and on the outer half of the plate, and Acuña still pulled it and drove it far beyond the left-field fence.
'That was (up) around his neck, it seemed like,' Snitker said. 'I don't know how he tomahawked the heck out of that thing.'
Unlike in 2022, when Acuña struggled with residual soreness from July 2021 surgery on his right ACL and had trouble rotating in his swing, he's shown no lingering effects from last year's left-knee surgery.
'I know just from personal experience, the second time you have a long-term rehab process, you're more prepared to handle it, mentally more so than anything,' said Strider, who had Tommy John surgery five years before his 2024 elbow surgery. 'I think he would say that to you, just knowing what to expect and knowing how to make that process a beneficial one rather than an impediment or a setback. You see the difference.
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'Just the work ethic and the focus and the positivity that I saw from him through this process gave me a lot of confidence that he would be exactly where he is right now. And certainly we're beyond grateful to have him out there.'
Acuña also had a single and a walk Saturday, and has reached base at least three times in five consecutive games. It's the longest such streak in the majors this season and Acuña's longest since a five-gamer in April 2023, early in a career-best season when he hit .337 with 41 homers, a majors-leading 73 stolen bases and an NL-best 1.012 OPS and 171 OPS+, earning all 30 first-place votes for league MVP.
He appears to be in even better condition now than then, leaner and more muscular in the legs and upper body, and Acuña was asked Saturday how he feels physically compared to his 2023 MVP season.
'Much better,' he said, smiling as he held one of his two young sons, Jamal, during a postgame interview.
Acuña always had an elite outfield arm, but this season he's made more consistently great throws than before, clocking in the upper-90 mph range and rifling throws from the corner that have left a few base runners looking toward him with expressions of both respect and surprise.
'Yeah, it's a little frustratingly easy for him,' Strider said, laughing. 'As much time as I've spent trying to throw the ball, he just kind of picks them up with his eyes closed and rips them. He's just an unbelievable athlete, and that's obviously something he knows. And his skill is playing the game free and easy and confident. And of course, your health is a major factor in being able to do that, being in a position to do that.
'And him dominating that rehab process the way he did put him in this position to be confident and be in that flow state that you're used to seeing him in, and we're reaping the benefits of it.'
The Braves also hope to reap the benefits of a healthy Strider, who maintained his best velocity of the season Saturday for the first five of his six innings. He had a season-high 96.4 mph average velocity on his fastball, up 1.1 mph over his season average, and threw 15 pitches at 97.0 or higher, all in the first five innings, topping out at 98.1.
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All but two of his 87 pitches were fastballs (50) or sliders (35), and the latter pitch was even more effective. Strider induced 23 swings apiece with the fastball and the slider, getting seven whiffs on fastballs and 17 on sliders.
'I repeated (the slider) better, or the command was repeated better, than in the last start,' Strider said, 'but we were just in the zone a lot. I think they were aggressive, and we were able to exploit that with the off-speed.'
Strider only issued one walk — that to start the sixth inning — and allowed three hits. But he downplayed the performance and said he would've liked to pitch more innings, but used too many pitches in the sixth inning.
Snitker, however, voiced the opinion of everyone else who watched. He saw Strider pitch a lot more like pre-surgery Strider than he had before Saturday.
'I think Spence took a big step forward,' Snitker said. 'Because he held his velocity longer than he has, and his stuff was really good. And Ronald just keeps going. He's just swinging the bat really good and having great at-bats.'
They're still 13 games back in the NL East and seven games under .500 (31-38), but the Braves have reasons to believe they are just getting started. And the two biggest ones are Acuña and Strider.
(Top photo of Ronald Acuña Jr.: Edward M. Pio Roda / Getty Images)