Pitchers have learned to be careful when there’s an Acuña on the bases, but the Phillies and Astros both struggled to contain the speedy brothers on Wednesday.
Braves outfielder Ronald Acuña Jr. and his younger brother, White Sox infielder Luisangel Acuña, accomplished a rare feat during Game 2 of their respective Wild Card Series.
In the first inning of the Braves' 4-3, 10-inning loss to the Phillies at Truist Park, Ronald walked, stole second base, swiped third as well and scored on Matt Olson’s two-out single. Luisangel, who pinch-ran for designated hitter Andrew Benintendi in the sixth inning of Chicago's series-clinching 7-3 win over the Astros at Daikin Park, also stole second and third before crossing the plate on Chase Meidroth’s huge three-run homer.
While only one brother got a win on Wednesday (Luisangel's White Sox will now face Cleveland in the ALDS), it was still a banner day for the brothers from Venezuela in terms of their base-stealing prowess.
According to the Elias Sports Bureau, the Acuñas became the first brothers with multiple steals each in the same postseason, let alone on the same day, and the first brothers to each steal two bases in an inning during their postseason careers. Only two other pairs of brothers have at least two career postseason steals each -- Aaron (2) and Bret Boone (5); and Yuli Gurriel (5) and Lourdes Gurriel Jr. (2).