Unfortunately for the slumping Philadelphia Phillies, they might not be done with Atlanta Braves superstar outfielder Ronald Acuña Jr. just yet.
As of Monday morning, the Phillies currently own the NL’s No. 5 playoff seed and would face the Cubs in the Wild Card Round. However, they’re only 1.5 games ahead of the No. 6-seeded Padres, who are on pace to play Acuña’s Braves in the best-of-three series later this month.
Philadelphia could realistically drop to the No. 6 spot and meet its NL East rival in the playoffs again for the third time in five years. For their sake, the Phillies should be praying that they avoid another clash with Acuña, especially with how badly he’s recently torn apart their pitching.
Braves outfielder Ronald Acuña Jr. has terrorized the Phillies this season
Acuña ended the regular season series having hit .380 with four home runs, 10 RBIs, and a 1.147 OPS in 60 place appearances against the Phillies. His 34 total bases are nearly twice as many as the second-next team; he has 19 total bases against the Marlins over nine games, and the Braves close the year with a three-game set in Miami.
This past weekend was more of the same, as Acuña went 6-for-13 with a home run and two RBIs. Three of those hits came in a 12-2 victory on Saturday, and Phillies interim manager Don Mattingly wasn’t surprised.
“For me, this is honestly nothing new,” Mattingly said. “He terrorized clubs [when I was] in Miami. He’s good all the time. If he’s healthy and playing every day, he’s always dangerous. And you could argue, [he is] probably the most dangerous guy on the field when he’s healthy.”
The key for Acuña, at least as it pertains to the Phillies, has been how good he’s been at making contact. He’s walked nine times and recorded only nine strikeouts against the Phillies, which might not sound especially impressive. But Acuna's 22.3 strikeout rate is the second-best of his career, trailing only the 11.4 from his MVP season, and his 11.5 walk rate is his lowest since 2022.
Phillies ought to consider walking Ronald Acuña Jr.
Comparing Acuña’s 2026 numbers against the Phillies to what he’s done against other teams is an inexact science because he’s missed time with injuries. The Braves typically play six or seven games against non-NL East opponents, and there are only two inter-division teams — Arizona and Colorado — that he's played at least five times.
But Acuña has always been a Phillies killer, hitting .313 with 21 home runs, 66 RBIs, 20 stolen bases, and a .938 OPS in 100 lifetime games. Across a full 162-game season, that’s a 34-homer, 107-RBI, and 32 stolen-base pace. You have to wonder whether Mattingly — or presumed successor Alex Cora — will eventually start giving him the Barry Bonds treatment.
If there’s any good news for Phillies fans, it's that they wouldn’t need to worry about Acuña taking another curtain call at Citizens Bank Park during the Wild Card Series. The higher seed, in this case the Braves, hosts every game.
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