The Atlanta Braves fell to the Washington Nationals Wednesday night 5-4, in a frustrating game that saw the bullpen give up 2 runs in each of the seventh and eighth innings, with the offense not being able to answer. This loss brings the Braves back under .500 with a chance to take 3 of 4 from the Nationals and get back to even Thursday. But game outcome aside, it was exciting evening for the Braves, as superstar Ronald Acuña Jr. was in the dugout with his teammates the entire game, as he will be playing with the local Gwinnett Stripers Thursday night in another rehab start.
Before the game, Acuña Jr. did a ten-minute press conference, where unfortunately he had to answer questions about a tweet for the first four minutes of it. While questions about the hustle tweet were to be expected, half of the press conference was a little absurd by local media in my opinion. Acuña Jr. handled the questions in a professional manner, while with a smile on his face, as he explained to the media that he had spoken with Braves’ manager Brian Snitker about the incident, as well as addressed his teammates about it being a distraction. With the media seemingly satisfied, Acuña Jr. also spoke about his knee, and how much he is excited to get back to playing with the big club, and putting the tweet situation behind both the team and himself. Ultimately, Acuña Jr. explains, the decision of when he can return will be up to how he is able to time up the fastball in his rehab starts, and when the Braves medical staff thinks that he is ready. It was great to see Ronald Acuña Jr. back in the dugout, and having fun with his teammates, and it is time for the Braves to get back to their winning ways. Andy Bunker and Randy McMichael talk more about the return of the Braves’ young superstar, and the impact that he could have moving forward.
