Ronald Acuña miraculously stays in game despite painful HBP (Video)

The Atlanta Braves dodged a bullet on Sunday, with Ronald Acuña staying in the game after a painful hit by pitch.

Acuña was injured not too long ago with an abdominal strain, but avoided the injured list. Any hit by pitch near the low end of the bat runs the risk of severe injury to the hand or wrist, most notably a potential fracture. With this in mind, Acuña dodged a bullet, as he appears fine after staying in the game against the Arizona Diamondbacks in the first of their doubleheader set on Sunday.

The Braves got off to a difficult start to their 2021 season, leading many to wonder if PECOTA was right in projecting them to finish third in the NL East.

Braves righting the ship, ever so slowly

Acuña was about the only constant for the Braves early this season, as he was leading them at an unsustainable pace. Since then, a few other notable Atlanta sluggers have pitched in, notably Freddie Freeman and Austin Riley. Freeman’s fight to get back above the Mendoza line has been well-publicized, and he hopes to stay there for the remainder of the 2021 campaign.

The Braves are 5-5 in their last ten games and have faced a ton of injuries recently. Though Ozzie Albies returned, as well as Acuña, their absence was well-marked with the Braves struggles in a multi-game stretch. Not to mention, without Max Fried and Mike Soroka near the top of their rotation, Atlanta’s pitching has suffered as well.

Here’s the hoping they get healthy soon, and Acuña avoids further damage.