Atlanta Braves star Ronald Acuña Jr. left his mark on a pivotal series against the rival Philadelphia Phillies on Sunday afternoon, when he hit a memorable three-run homer to tie the contest at four runs apiece. This came just one day after Acuña Jr. was criticized by Phillies starting pitcher Zack Wheeler for his antics, especially when celebrating on the basepaths.
This brings us to Sunday, when Acuña's Braves took the third of a four-game set at Citizens Bank Park. Acuña Jr. was booed every at-bat rather ruthlessly, but embraced the hatred from Phillies faithful and even took part in a curtain call. These moments, as hilarious as they were to watch live, don't really do Acuña Jr.'s trolling justice. That is where we (and the statisticians) come in.
Ronald Acuña Jr. ties things up in the 8th! pic.twitter.com/pnlDwsbGVR
— MLB (@MLB) September 6, 2026
Ronald Acuña Jr.'s home run trot by the numbers
As Acuña Jr. tends to do, he took his time rounding the basepaths as boos rained down on him from Phillies fans. The home run itself was a no-doubter, traveling well over 400 feet. Prior to Acuña's blast, the Phillies had a 95 percent chance to win, per MLB.com. When his ball cleared the fence, that number went down to just 55 percent. Acuña's home run was also just the sixth recorded in Braves history on a pitch clocked over 100 mph. Even so, it was what Acuña did afterward which really made headlines.
Per Mark Bowman, "It took him 32.36 seconds to round the bases. This was the third slowest trot on a non-disputed home run during his career and the slowest trot on a non-disputed homer this season. It took him 33.44 seconds to round the bases after hitting the first of two homers against the Marlins on Aug. 6. But he briefly stopped at first base, not knowing the ball bounced over the wall after hitting the gloves of two Miami outfielders."
That is how Acuña Jr. made his statement.
Why the Braves need to win the NL East
Unlike the Phillies, which feature one of the most talented rotations in MLB, the Braves postseason starting pitchers leave a lot to be desired. That's not necessarily the fault of Alex Anthopoulos, as Atlanta's had rotten injury luck all season long. What looked to be a strong quartet of Chris Sale, Spencer Strider, Spencer Schwellenbach and Reynaldo Lopez is, for now, just Sale, who is in the midst of another NL Cy Young caliber season. The prospect of starting Tyler Mahle, Grant Holmes or Bryce Elder in meaningful October baseball games should frighten any Braves fan.
Braves playoff starter | ERA |
|---|---|
Chris Sale | 2.10 |
Tyler Mahle | 1.24 (with ATL) |
Martin Perez | 3.25 |
Grant Holmes | 3.62 |
Bryce Elder | 4.11 |
Yet, that is their reality, and it's why the Braves will rely heavily on their rotation and homefield advantage. The Braves have played some of their best baseball at Truist Park this season, as they have a 48-24 record at home, easily the best in the National League. Facing a talented Phillies pitching staff in front of The Battery is a whole lot less daunting than doing so in Citizens Bank Park.
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